Duel of the Millennium
by Pikatwig
Summary: Time and space is on the verge of falling apart and the only way to save it is for one duelist to fight the one responsible. The legendary nameless pharaoh gathers four of the greatest heroes to duel each-other to determine the best among them for the job...
1. Chapter 1

Pikatwig: So… 151st story.

KKD: *claps* Congrats, aibou. You got a lot down and still counting.

Pikatwig: Yeah. So… onto the franchise of 151. ...my interest in Yu-Gi-Oh has gone from 'not at all' to 'casual'.

KKD: For some, that's better than nothing.

Pikatwig: As I mentioned in the other Yu-Gi-Oh story we wrote, I did try to get into Zexal but reruns of it stopped. ...and Sean told me it's probably better I don't start there since its protagonist is dumber than various Digimon leads.

KKD: ...that's pretty dumb. ...bet he's not as dumb as the idiot straw hat pirate captain from One Piece.

Pikatwig: Which your interest of matches my interest of Ryu Orb. Surprised you haven't gone and started calling it other names.

KKD: You know what…? ...I haven't thought of any. But if you have any wacky suggestions, let me know. Best I could think of on the spot was Ichi Kaizoku or Uno Dinero… not the best at making parody names of some shows.

Pikatwig: Anyway… I can't remember why I thought this premise up, but I thought up this premise of something that would bring the protagonists together in a situation similar yet different to Bonds Beyond Time. And, yes, include the leads of the next three seasons… even if not fully.

KKD: Just don't get me started with Vrains. Didn't see the show, but based on the new card type, it feels like the entire game has to be rewritten, and it's scaring away both newcomers and veterans alike.

Pikatwig: Which is ironic given the theme of the season is "don't give up even if things get tough".

KKD: Very ironic. Seriously, you could simplify it better for people to get.

Pikatwig: Well… bit of an advance apology to those who like that season, the cast of Vrains will be the least important of the six to this plot.

KKD: I'm fine with that. In all honesty, I'm only familiar with the first three incarnations before dropping out.

Pikatwig: I think I know a bit about the other two seasons to write this, so… yeah. As for continuity, set after the original, GX, 5D, and Zexal have ended. Arc-V and Vrains will both still be on their adventures as this happens.

KKD: Alright.

Pikatwig: But the focus will be a bit more on GX and Arc-V to a lesser extent.

KKD: Ok, I guess I can buy that.

Pikatwig: Let's go ahead and start.

Disclaimers: Neither author owns the rights to anything in this story apart from original content. Yu-Gi-Oh!, Yu-Gi-Oh! GX, Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's, Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal, Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V, and Yu-Gi-Oh! Vrains are owned by Konami and their respective owners.

* * *

The scene opened up on a small boat where a young man with brown hair in a red and black school jacket, blue jeans, and red and black sneakers looked at a small journal that had various comments about places he had been to, as well as notes about what he was doing.

' _It's been five years since I left Domino City and Duel Academy. Time really flies after you've traveled the world and experienced so many things it has to offer. Not to mention all the different duelists I've faced over that time. ...as well as that one time traveler and meeting Yugi proper."_

" _ **That sure was a unique experience…"**_ a female voice commented.

The male glanced up and saw the ghostly image of a female humanoid monster with one green eye, one orange eye, hair split between purple and white, and an outfit that left little to the imagination.

"Wonder if anybody will believe that I did encounter people from the future…"

" _ **We'll see, Jaden. For now, I suggest you focus on preparing yourself…"**_

* * *

Years later, we cut to see a much more futuristic city, zooming in on one of the larger buildings to see a man with black spiked hair with some golden yellow highlights wearing a blue jacket over a black shirt, black pants, brown boots, and for the moment wasn't wearing gloves, his violet eyes staring off to the city horizon as the sunlight glistened off the yellow mark under his left eye. He then heard his phone begin to ring and swiftly picked it up.

"Hello?"

" _Yusei, where are you?! You were supposed to be back an hour ago!"_

"Sorry…" Yusei apologized as he began to walk towards a red motorcycle of sorts, "I was just making sure things were calm and-

" _You do remember that there haven't been any problems in this city for years, right?"_

"You can't be to careful, Akiza. We've been at peace for some time and still trouble has shown up. Anyway, I'm on my way back now."

* * *

Back in the present, Jaden arrived at an island and hopped off the boat with a relaxed smile. He began to roam around the grounds where the reunion was being held as signs and banners were held up for the returning students.

"Good to see this place again…" Jaden commented with a fond look.

" _ **I noticed you're the only one here in red. Everyone seems to be in yellow or blue…"**_

"Never cared for the promotion to Ra Yellow. I just felt that red was a cooler color…" Jaden responded.

" _ **That and you wanted to stay away from others after everything that happened with me…"**_

"Yea…"

He then heard various people began to cheer about something and turned to see another boat arrive and somebody get off of it.

"It's the original Duel Queen of Obelisk Blue!"

"Alexis-sama!"

The returning students cheered as Jaden saw a familiar blonde came walking down a ramp from a ship, wearing the iconic white and blue female Obelisk school uniform, and she simply smiled a bit and waved to the crowd.

"We love you Alexis!" came cheers from both male and female students.

Alexis just waved back and smiled before noticing the amount of students gathered to cheer for her. She simply continued forward off of the boat and, after a bit, noticed Jaden was standing by himself. Jaden smiled as he waved and got her attention.

"Hey, Alexis. Been a long time," Jaden said with a smile.

"Jaden! Great to see you again," she smiled as she rushed over and hugged him, surprising him a bit, but he accepted and returned the hug.

The other students watching gasped in shock before they began to glare at Jaden. None of them were pleased at the sight of the hug, but they soon shrugged it off.

"So… how have you been?" Alexis asked after she stopped hugging Jaden.

"Alright. I did miss you guys, but I've had fun traveling," Jaden smiled.

"I see. Well, as long as you're happy…" Alexis smiled.

"...wanna hang out?" Jaden asked.

"Sure. I don't see why not," Alexis responded before she walked forward and led Jaden around the area

' _...heh. I don't think I ever noticed how attractive she is…'_ Jaden thought before he followed.

Alexis turned back and saw the crowd of people begin to follow them a bit.

"You still called a Duel Queen?" Jaden asked.

"Yeah. Even dueled Yugi-san once. He just narrowly beat me in his match, but then again, who could say they defeated the King of Games himself?" Alexis commented.

"I dueled him once. I can't remember which of us won, but it was fun nonetheless," Jaden recalled and chuckled as he got out his Winged Kuriboh card and the two smiled at it.

"That little card has got you out of a lot of tight jams, Jaden. Where would you be without it?"

"Who knows," Jaden shrugged.

* * *

Back in the future, we see a woman with red hair and currently wearing a pink dress, white slippers, and green necklaces and earrings, staring at the door and waited for someone before hearing somebody walk over

"Yusei late often?" a young woman with teal hair and golden eyes while wearing a pink top and white short shorts, currently walking barefoot.

"Yea… he is. I love him a lot, but he does like to run off and leave me alone…"

The woman with teal hair sat next to the redhead, sighing a bit as they just got comfortable.

"Akiza-san?"

"Yeah Luna?"

"I was wondering if you're happy being married to Yusei."

Akiza leaned forward, looked towards some pictures that lined the walls, seeing many pictures of herself and Yusei throughout the city.

"Yes. Even if he is late at times, I love him too much to stay angry for too long," Akiza smiled.

The two then heard a knock at the door and Luna looked towards the door as if to indicate she was asking who was at it.

"And not him. He never knocks," Akiza sighed.

Luna walked over to the door and opened it up, "Hi."

The person who came to the door was a girl with black hair, circular glasses, wearing a white and blue striped long-sleeved shirt, an orange vest, blue jeans and a pair of blue sneakers.

"Carly!" Akiza smiled.

"Hey Akiza. Luna-chan," Carly greeted.

"Long time no see," Luna smiled.

Carly sat down in a chair and took off her glasses.

"...I can't be the only one who thinks the lenses look almost like a spiral of sorts, right?" Luna asked.

"I get that a lot," Carly sighed, cleaning her glasses a little.

* * *

"So… Alexis, I heard recently you got a new version of a card. What was it, Mass Hypnosis? I saw a vid about it and I was curious," Jaden questioned.

"You mean this?" Alexis asked as she got out the card, "Got a bit of special training before I went up against the King of Games and decided to give this card a try."

"Define special training."

"Well… I mean that I found this hypnotist who was also a duelist and she trained me to use some hypnosis themed cards alongside my current deck. It was a bit odd at first, but it's pretty cool," Alexis said with a smile.

Jaden simply blinked a bit, a bit confused, "I thought you had a bad experience with that stuff seeing… y'know. Society of Light and all."

"I kind of kept thinking about hypnosis sometime after that and while it was bad, especially for that time with the purpose, I ended up growing a bit fond of hypnosis…" Alexis admitted.

Jaden's eyes briefly flashed orange and teal as he looked at Alexis, checking to make sure there wasn't anything off about her. After a few seconds, though, he didn't sense anything off about her and his eyes returned to normal.

"Well at least that was your own choice…" Jaden figured.

Alexis simply smiled a bit as the two friends ended up eventually arriving at an empty arena.

"Heh. Wonder why they have an arena…" Jaden, jokingly, asked.

"So the returning students can show how they improved," Alexis commented.

"...what do you say you and I have a duel for old time's sake?" Jaden offered.

"I'm down with that. Ready to get your game on?" Alexis smiled.

"You bet. I'll show you how much I've grown in the past five years."

"And I'll show you how my training with these cards helped me become a stronger duelist!"

As the two got onto the arena and began to set up, though, two people roamed towards the arena, one being male with green and red hair while wearing a red shirt under a white, gold, and red jacket used as a cape, green cargo pants and red shoes, and the other one a female with purple hair, wearing similar colors with a red, gold, and white jacket over a black shirt, red skirt and black shorts, as well as brown boots.

"Wait… where are?" the male with green hair asked.

"...I think we're at the Duel Academy. ...I think. It looks kind of… different…" the girl with purple hair noted with unease as they saw Jaden and Alexis getting ready for their duel, "Huh? ...wait. I thought I was the only one in Slifer Red."

"...huh?"

"I'll explain in a minute…"

* * *

Meanwhile, in the future, Yusei continued to drive on through the streets of the city, looking somewhat confused as the constructed highways that were mainly designed for both traditional vehicles and duels on the road now had elements of a non-futuristic looking city.

"Okay… what kind of construction is going on with these roads?" Yusei muttered as he looked at a road sign that read 'Neo Domino City ¼ Mile, Satellite 4 Miles, Heartland 6 Miles'. Yusei looked at the sign again, "Wait… 'Heartland'? There was never a town with a name that silly, especially not one so close to the Satellite."

Yusei shrugged a tiny bit and got back to revving up his motorcycle when suddenly, a loud yell of "OI~!"

Yusei ended up falling off of his motorcycle and looked up to see a kid that couldn't be more than 13 years old with black and magenta hair in strange spikes, wearing a red vest over a lavender and teal shirt, white pants with orange flames, and black shoes currently riding some kind of hoverboard.

"Hey kid! It's not safe for you to be in the middle of the road! MOVE!" Yusei yelled.

"Well sorry, but I'm late for school, and I need to get there as fast as I can!" the kid yelled.

"It's almost 9:00! What school would be open at this time?!"

"Oh. Thanks for the tip, old guy!" the kid yelled before he turned around and headed off

Yusei gave the kid an annoyed look before he noticed the kid's hairstyle and then proceeded back onto his motorcycle, "What is wrong with that kid's hair?"

* * *

-LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! We have our first duel of our returning graduates ready to happen!- an announcer happily declared, -On the left side, you know her, you love her, she's the top female of her year, she's currently learning a style known as hypno dueling, and she has proven capable of making an attempt at the title of King of Games, give it up for the Duel Queen of Obelisk Blue, ALEXIS RHODES!-

The gathered crowd cheered wildly as Alexis took the stage and waved to the crowd.

"WE LOVE YOU!" various people in the crowd yelled.

"ROCK ON, DUEL QUEEN!"

"SIGN MY CARDS!"

"PUT US INTO A TRANCE!"

-And now, on the right side, the lone Slifer who proved that even if you're in that dorm you have skill, the Nomadic Duelist, the Savior of Duel Academy, here he is, JADEN YUKI~!-

People did cheer for Jaden, but it was nowhere near the amount of cheers that Alexis had got.

"He's going to be going down, no problem. You got this, Alexis-sama!" one fan cheered.

"Show him who's boss, Duel Queen!" another fan cheered.

"Hypnotize him into serving you like the Queen you are!" another fan yelled.

Jaden didn't let the comments get to him as he gave a smile towards Alexis, "Lex, I'm looking forward to another fun duel with you!"

Alexis smiled as she got her deck ready and gave her own smile at Jaden, "Same here, Jaden. Let's see how much stronger you've gotten!"

"Do you recognize either of them?" the boy with green hair asked.

"...I think I recognize the girl in blue. I think… not totally sure. Boy in red there? Never seen him in my life," the girl told him.

-Duelists, are you ready?!-

"YEAH~!" the crowd cheered.

-Then let's…-

"Get your game on!" Jaden and Alexis said in perfect unison.

(J: 4000; A: 4000)

"Ladies first, Lex," Jaden smiled.

"Thank you. I'll draw," Alexis nodded, taking her sixth card, "Alright. I'll start by summoning Cyber Tutu in Defense Mode. I'll set down two cards and then end my turn."

Before Alexis, a girl with pink hair and dressed in a skintight magenta and cyan ballerina-style suit took the field while two facedown cards appeared behind her.

(Cyber Tutu - Lvl 3; ATK: 1000; DEF: 800)

"Well, seems familiar so far, Lex. But I look forward to seeing how things play out. My turn!" Jaden declared as he pulled out a card, "I'll start off with a classic, Elemental Hero Avian!"

A man covered in green feathers, looking very much like a superhero, appeared before Jaden.

(Elemental HERO Avian- Lvl 3; ATK: 1000; DEF: 1000)

"Next, I'll activate Hero's Power. This will increase Avian's Attack Points by 500 points," Jaden announced.

(Elemental HERO Avian- Lvl 3; ATK: 1000-1500; DEF: 1000)

"And with that, I'll send him to attack your Cyber Tutu!" Jaden yelled with a smirk.

Avian flew forward as he reeled his clawed fist back, aiming towards Cyber Tutu and let out a loud screech

"Not a good move. I play a trap card!"

One of the cards behind Cyber Tutu flipped up to reveal a defensive shield that had angel wings on it.

"Cyber Angel Hope let's me deflect any attack at any of my Cyber Girl monsters, and send it back at you!"

A pair of angel wings appeared near Cyber Tutu that then blew a large gust of wind towards Avian, causing him to get sent flying backwards and smack right at Jaden.

(Jaden: 4000-2500)

"Not bad, Lex. I guess I'll just set a card facedown and end my turn," Jaden said with a slight shrug.

"That's what you get for challenging the Duel Queen!" one fan yelled.

"I'll go next. I'll summon Blade Skater in Attack Mode!" she shouted, summoning a blue skinned woman dressed in violet on ice skates with blades in her arms.

(Blade Skater - Lvl 4; ATK: 1400; DEF: 1500)

"And now I play a Spell Card. Cyber Boost! This will let me summon another Cyber Girl as long as I have at least one other Cyber Girl on my field, and I choose Etoile Cyber!" Alexis announced.

A redheaded girl was summoned to the field with blue skin and wearing a red skintight suit with ribbons around her arms.

(Etoile Cyber - Lvl 4; ATK: 1200; DEF: 1600)

"I'll set another card facedown. Your turn."

"Ok. I draw!" Jaden proclaimed and smiled to the card he drew, "Now I'll play Elemental Hero Sparkman in Defense Mode."

In response, a blue and gold armored man took the stage as lightning shot around him.

(Elemental HERO Sparkman - Lvl 4; ATK: 1600; DEF: 1400)

"Next I'll play Double Summon! With this, I can summon another monster, and I'll summon Elemental Hero Clayman in DEF mode!"

A golem made of clay took the field it before kneeling down by Sparkman.

(Elemental HERO Clayman - Lvl 4; ATK: 800; DEF: 2000)

"I throw down a facedown! Your turn, Lex," Jaden said.

Alexis couldn't help but giggle a little as Jaden looked confused.

"Huh? What's so funny?"

"Just… haven't heard you say that in such a long time. Feels nostalgic."

Jaden gained a very faint blush on his face with surprise over the comment.

"Really? Well… I'm kind of feeling nostalgic dueling you…"

"Yeah… been a long time."

"Well… I wanna see what new tricks you've got. So why don't you go ahead and show me what you got?"

Alexis gained a small smirk as she set her fingers on her deck, ready to draw her next card, "You're gonna wish you hadn't asked. I'll draw!"

She looked at the card she drew and gave a smirk, "Alright. Now I'll summon the Spellcaster Monster Cyber Magician in Attack Mode!"

Suddenly, a brand new monster took the stage, revealing itself to be a woman who appeared to be a gymnast with pink hair, and blue eyes wearing a skintight gymnast outfit that was mostly red and silver, but it also had elements of a magician such as her hat being similar to Dark Magician girl's but in red and silver, a staff that had ribbons at the end, pointy ears, and had a pair of fairy-like wings on her back that were mostly silver with teal veins.

(Cyber Magician; Lvl 4; ATK: 1500; DEF: 1500)

"A magician? Not what I would've expected from you," Jaden admitted.

The crowd suddenly went into a loud cheer over the appearance of her new monster.

"Wow… can barely hear myself think…" Jaden muttered.

" _ **You, think? It's hard enough to talk to you over your own ego sometimes, but you actually thinking would make it harder."**_

"...shut up, you…"

"Next, I'll play a Spell Card, Call of Magic! This allows me to call a Fairy type monsters to the field. I call upon Freya, Spirit of Victory!"

The monster in question was a silver-haired cheerleader in a dark blue and pale blue outfit with rose-colored pom poms as she leaped up and cheered.

(Freya, Spirit of Victory; Lvl 1; ATK: 100; DEF: 100)

"What are you planning…?" Jaden muttered.

"You'll see in due time. I'll set one card face down. Your turn," Alexis said with a confident look.

"Ok then. I'll draw!" Jaden proclaimed as he got out a card. He looked at his current hand and then smirked a bit, "Now tribute both Sparkman and Clayman to summon an old friend!"

Alexis just smiled as she realized what Jaden's plan was.

Sparkman and Clayman both vanished into a sphere of light and energy, launching into space before flying right back down.

"Neo Space has a brand new hero! And his name is Elemental Hero Neos!" Jaden declared, summoning from the sphere up a muscular figure in silver with red, blue, and black accents with green eyes and a yellow gem on his forehead, blades coming out of his arms and forehead.

(Elemental HERO Neos; Lvl 7; ATK: 2500; DEF: 2000)

"Sugee…" the boy with green hair muttered.

"Well, make your next move if you want to, Jaden. Just know that you run the risk of ending the duel if you don't play wisely," Alexis confidently, yet almost playfully, told him.

"Trust me, I'm aware of that, Lex. But first, let me activate another card, Neo Space!" he called out as the field around them got covered in a rainbow field of sorts, "Now if you remember Neos' little trick, I'll be doing a good ol' fusion trick. Now I'll fuse Neos with the Neo Spacian Air Hummingbird from my hand by sending both back into my deck."

Suddenly, the ghostly image of a humanoid red hummingbird with white wings from its back appeared before it and Neos became lights in their respective colors before merging.

"Through Contact Fusion, I Fusion Summon Elemental Hero Air Neos!" Jaden declared, as Neos appeared in a mostly red color scheme, apart from a spot on his face, now resembling Air Hummingbird with golden talons for hands and the same white wings coming out of his back.

(Elemental HERO Air Neos; Lvl 7; ATK: 2500; DEF: 2000)

"And just as a precaution, I'll summon Neo Spacian Aqua Dolphin," Jaden added, summoning a humanoid dolphin with blue skin, and a peach underside with red gems peppered all over it.

(Neo Spacian Aqua Dolphin; Lvl 3; ATK: 600; DEF: 800)

"Elemental Heroes… the name rings a bell, but I can't place where from," the girl with purple hair admitted.

"I'll set one card face down and end my turn," Jaden announced.

"You're old tricks, Jaden. Nice and all, but it makes you seem a bit too easy to predict. Well… you asked to see some of my new tricks, so I guess I will show them," Alexis commented as she drew her next card, "First, I'll tribute Blade Skater and Etoile Cyber to summon a new, but old monster, White Night Queen!"

In response, a blue-skinned woman with dark blue hair, yellow eyes, and covered in clothing made of ice and a white cape appeared.

(White Night Queen; Lvl 7; ATK: 2100; DEF: 800)

"...wait… why do you still have that?" Jaden questioned.

"Never lost the card, so why not keep it?" she responded before she pulled another card from her hand, "Next, I'll play Pot of Greed so I can draw two more cards!"

She drew the two cards and smiled, "Alright. Now, I'll play Cyber Recovery. This allows me to bring back one Cyber Girl that had been sent to the Graveyard, and I'll bring back Etoile Cyber!"

The monster then spawned back onto the field as Jaden looked to the monsters on the field.

"I end my turn."

"Alright. I draw!" Jaden declared, drawing, "Now I'll summon Elemental Hero Wildheart!"

The monster summoned this time looked like a tribal warrior with a long black ponytail, a massive sword, tribal garb, and some red tribal markings on his face.

(Elemental HERO Wildheart; Lvl 4; ATK: 1500; DEF: 1600)

"Why don't you just surrender to the Duel Queen already?!" one fan yelled.

The fans started to jeer at him as Jaden looked at his deck for a moment.

"Ignoring them…" Jaden responded, "I'll send Aqua Dolphin to attack Freya!"

"You can't. If there's another Fairy monster on the field, then Freya can't be attacked. And, by the way, with Feya on the field, White Night Queen gets an extra 400 Attack and Defense points," Alexis said with a relaxed smile, "You see why I kept that card?"

(White Night Queen; ATK 2100-2500; DEF: 800-1200)

"Fine then, Aqua Dolphin will change his target to Cyber Tutu!" Jaden yelled.

"And I play a trap in response! Shift! With this card, I can change positions of my monsters. I'll swap Cyber Tutu and Cyber Magician's positions!"

"Then I play this Spell Card! Hero's Strength! This will increase Aqua Dolphin's Level by two and increase his attack points by 1000 Attack points as long as I pay 100 Life Points and another Elemental Hero loses those 1000! Wildheart, give Aqua Dolphin your strength!"

(Jaden: 2500-2400)

(Neo Spacian Aqua Dolphin; Lvl 3-5; ATK: 600-1600)

(Elemental HERO Wildheart; ATK: 1500-500)

"And now, I play another Trap!" Alexis declared as a card depicting a pocket watch swaying with a spiral appearing in the center of the swaying pocket watch, having captured the attention of a female monster who had spirals in her eyes, "This is called Watch of Spirals. If a monster attacks a monster I control that is of a lower level, this watch negates their attack and I can activate one of two effects. Either I gain control of that monster to aid my Cyber Magician as long as she and the Watch of Spirals remain in play, or I can send your monster to the GY and grant their Attack and Defense Points to my Magician. Since my side is already filled, Aqua Dolphin is going to the Graveyard!"

Cyber Magician giggled and then smacked Aqua Dolphin upside the head.

(Cyber Magician; ATK: 1500-3100; DEF: 1500-2300)

"Well… that didn't work…" Jaden muttered.

" _ **You think?"**_

"Still your turn."

Jaden looked at his deck for a moment and then at Alexis' other monsters.

"No way you can keep all of them safe! Air Neos, attack Cyber Tutu!"

Air Neos flew in and managed to hit Cyber Tutu with a powerful punch, causing her to explode in pixels.

(Alexis: 4000-2500)

"I'll set one card facedown. Your move."

"Not bad, not bad at all," Alexis admitted as she stretched a little, "Well, time to get ready for a trick that has gotten the whole world in amazement."

" _ **Be careful. I think this girl is getting a powerplay ready."**_

Alexis took a moment to slip out of her boots, causing the crowd to cheer loudly, the Duel Queen wiggling her toes while the crowd cheered.

"...am I missing something here?" Jaden cluelessly asked

"You'll see," Alexis smiled as she drew a card, "First off, I'm clearing Air Neos out! White Night Queen, attack!"

The royal monster sent out a flurry of ice crystals at Air Neos.

"No you don't! I play the spell Contact Out!"

This caused Air Neos to be covered by a light before splitting into his components, the blast missing them as a result.

(Elemental HERO Neos; Lvl 7; ATK: 2500; DEF: 2000)

(Neo Spacian Air Hummingbird; Lvl 3; ATK: 800; DEF: 600)

"Wow. Not a bad play," Alexis admitted.

"Thanks…"

"But now for that trick I mentioned. I'll activate this Ritual Spell called Fetish's Might," Alexis declared, showing a teal bordered card with the image of a Dark Magician Girl showing off her curves and feet in a way that was attracting other monsters, "My mentor showed me this trick to allow me to Ritual Summon a special monster. Thus, I'll use this card's power on my Cyber Magician. Ok, girl, let's show them what they wanna see!"

Cyber Magician giggled as she slid off her shoes, revealing her toes to the audience as her suit turned into a set of violet and cyan armor, her helmet coming off to let her hair flow out in a wavy style while turning pink and flowing to her hips, gaining a golden necklace around her neck with a pearl pattern, and a symbol of bare feet on her right arm positioned in a way to let her reach and kiss it.

"Presenting one of my new ace monsters, Foot Fetish Magician Girl!" Alexis declared.

(Foot Fetish Magician Girl; Lvl 11; ATK: 4000; DEF: 2600)

The crowd cheered even louder than before as the magician waved to the crowd.

"Yea~! The Queen brought out one of her aces!"

"She's amazing as always!"

"Show that guy how great you two are!"

"I love this card!"

"...what?" Jaden blinked.

"...I don't get it…" the girl with purple hair in the crowd admitted.

"Same," the boy with green hair added.

"I'll end my turn here. Give the crowd a moment to admire her and let you think of something," Alexis smiled. The magician flew by the crowd and began showing off for the crowd.

Jaden blinked a bit more as he drew his next card, "So… why are you barefoot now? This doesn't make much sense…"

"Just how my mentor trained me to duel when we trained together. She was pretty adamant about this. But, uh… not sure how you can win here. Nobody's ever managed to beat this magician, not even I could figure it out. Only reason I lost the match with the King of Games was because he managed to banish her from the game until he dealt the final blow," Alexis explained.

"So, you're saying it's impossible, huh?"

"Pretty much. Sorry."

"Well… I like to make the impossible, possible! I play Card of Sanctity! You know how this goes, both players draw up until we have six cards!"

Both of them drew up to fill their hands accordingly. Jaden gave a small smirk at his deck and Alexis gave a somewhat confused look at some of the cards she had.

"Perfect! First, I'll summon Neo-Spacian Grand Mole, then I'll fuse him with Neos and Neo-Spacian Dark Panther!" Jaden declared.

(Neo-Spacian Grand Mole; Lvl 3; ATK: 900; DEF: 300)

A mole with drills on its shoulders and the ghost of an armored panther appeared before they and Neos merged into one in a large cloud in the sky.

"Now, appear! Elemental Hero Nebula Neos!"

Neos appeared with dark green armor and drills like Grand Mole, but he also got mechanical wings and darker skin with spiky 'hair'.

(Elemental Hero Nebula Neos: Lvl 9; ATK: 3000; DEF: 2500)

"I now play the Spell Card, Nebula Charge! For one turn only, I can boost Nebula Neos' attack by 2100 points!"

(Elemental Hero Nebula Neos: ATK: 3000-5100)

"Now, attack the Magician Girl!"

Nebula Neos then flew in towards the Foot Fetish Magician Girl. She tried to stop Nebula Neos, but it was no use as the Hero shoved his drill through her.

(Alexis: 2500-1400)

"HOW DARE YOU!" several people in the crowd yelled, many of them hating him for what he had done.

"Here we go…" Jaden muttered before somebody threw a bag of popcorn at him, "Hey!"

"You big meanie! Why did you go and hurt the cute magician?!"

"She was just defending the Duel Queen!"

"You're nothing but a plebeian not worthy of standing before the Duel Queen!"

"KNOCK IT OFF!" Alexis yelled at the crowd, "It's all just part of the duel and it's not over yet!"

The crowd calmed down and almost went silent as Alexis turned towards Jaden, "Sorry that happened to you, Jaden. I seriously can't control my fans at times."

"It's cool, I guess. Now then… I'll throwdown a face down and end my turn. Nubla Neos' attack points turn back to normal now that I've ended my turn. Your move, Lex."

(Elemental Hero Nebula Neos: ATK: 5100-3000)

"In that case, I'll play Machine Angel Ritual! I'll tribute both Etoile Cyber and Cyber Prima from my hand to Ritual Summon!"

With that, the two monsters in question became orbs of light and flew into the air before they merged into a sort of golden grid.

"I Ritual Summon, Machine Angel Vrash!"

Thus, from the light, appeared a very majestic woman wearing purple and pink with a golden ring behind her, almost making her resemble the Hindu deity Vishnu.

(Machine Angel Vrash; Lvl 10; ATK: 3000; DEF: 2000)

"Oh boy…" Jaden muttered.

"You'll regret challenging the Duel Queen!"

"Prepare to get destroyed!"

Alexis simply exhaled before she looked towards her monster, "This duel ends here, Jaden! Since Vrash was Special Summoned, all Fusion Monsters you control are destroyed, and you take 1000 points of damage for each one destroyed! So say farewell to Nebula Neos, Wildheart, and Air Hummingbird."

A large blast of energy formed in Vrash's hands before she launched it at Nebula Neos as well as Wildheart and Air Hummingbird.

"...okay, it's official, I hate Ritual Summoning now…" Jaden said as he saw he had no way to stop this attack.

The attack collided with all three, causing them to explode, and the force of the explosion nearly knocked Jaden off of where he was standing.

(Jaden: 2400-0)

The crowd cheered in amazement as Alexis waved to the crowd.

"Good game, Jaden," she said as she walked over to him.

"You too, Alexis. I had fun," Jaden smiled.

"So… were you impressed by my new tactics?" Alexis curiously asked.

Jaden blinked for a moment before he recalled something he said to her in the past and smiled.

"Huh?"

"Impressed? I think I'm in love," he cheekily responded.

Alexis faintly blushed before she remembered when he said that in the past, gave a soft giggle, and then responded, "You're sweet. Too bad I had to crush you."

The two just laughed a bit as the crowd continued to clap for them and they turned and waved to them.

* * *

Meanwhile, Yusei had stopped his bike when he came to an unfamiliar fork in the road and sighed a bit. He eventually turned to the right road and decided to go down it before he hit a dead end.

"You… have got… to be kidding me!" Yusei yelled in agitation, "Fine! I'm just walking!"

He groaned, walking his motorcycle down another road before he just started to walk.

* * *

"Yuma, where are you?!" a girl yelled.

The girl in question had hair that was in two shades of blue reaching her back while wearing a teal and white sailor fuku uniform, black stockings and brown shoes. She eventually saw Yuma was asleep on a bench.

"Yuma, wake up!" she shouted, smacking Yuma across the face, "You'll be late for school!"

The boy simply continued to sleep and rolled onto the ground, leaving the girl with an annoyed look.

"Yuma!" she yelled again, but he kept snoozing away. She gave an annoyed growl at him as she got out a paper fan before smacking him upside the head.

"OW! What was that for?!" Yuma yelled as he got up.

"I just said you'll be late for school, you idiot!"

"No. I met some old guy who told me the time was 9:00."

"Yuma, it's not that late. It's already 7:50AM!" She shouted, pointing to a clock that indeed said 7:50, but the clock suddenly appeared to distort, the hands suddenly shifting to be 9:00, "What the…?"

"That was weird…"

The two then heard a loud zooming sound, turning to see two people riding motorcycles, but what surprised them was that they were dueling.

"What the…?" they both said.

"Now, I tune my Level 3 Tuner Monster Junk Synchron with my Level 3 Injection Fairy Lily and my Level 4 Aurora Wing! With the power of the stars, I call forth this monster from its resting place as a guardian! I Synchro Summon, Leo, The Keeper of the Sacred Tree!" the one duelist shouted as his three monsters merged to form a giant armored lion with a plant-like body having petals for a mane.

"...Synchro what?" they both asked.

The two looked greatly confused as to what was going on before a small light began to shimmer on Yuma's Duel Disk.

"What now?"

"I don't know what's going on, Rio!"

* * *

Yusei continued to walk when his Duel Disk began to gain a small light, making him look at the disk in confusion before he noticed the sky was slowly starting to grow darker and darker...

* * *

"Where is she…?" Jaden muttered as he stood and awaited Alexis to finish talking to some fans so that they could hang out.

As he waited, some people walked past him and glared at him. Jaden just exhaled a bit as he took out his Winged Kuriboh card.

"...maybe coming here was a mistake…"

"I wouldn't say that, Jaden," Alexis said as she walked over to him, "I'm happy that you're back and I'm sure any of our other friends who are here are happy you're back."

"Yeah, I guess," Jaden figured.

"Hey, chin up. We had a great duel and we're back together, right?"

"Yeah, that was fun to watch," a male voice said.

The two looked confused before turning to see the two kids who watched them earlier. The boy with green hair ran over to them, but ended up tripping and falling onto Jaden and Alexis.

"*groans* Yuya… watch where you're going…" the girl sighed.

"Sorry…" the boy, Yuya, apologized.

Jaden simply sighed before he noticed some of his and Alexis' cards got knocked down in the fall, looking at them with a look of fear as he quickly picked them back up. Alexis soon picked some of her own back up and then handed one of Jaden's back to him. He simply smiled before he picked up another card.

"Wait… 'Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon'?" Jaden questioned as he looked at a card depicting a red and gold dragon, but the card had more text than before, and had the colors of both an Effect Monster and a Spell card.

"Oh, that's mine," Yuya quickly informed.

"Here," Jaden said as he handed the card back to Yuya.

"Say, I don't think we've seen either of you here before," Alexis noted, "This is meant for a reunion; why're you two here?"

"I just wanted to say your duel was really entertaining. As an Entertainment Duelist, I enjoy seeing other people make such exciting duels," Yuya informed.

"Thanks," Jaden smiled, "I always like to experience awesome duels, myself."

"But still… why are you two here?" Alexis repeated.

"He just wanted to say that. We just ended up here all of a sudden," the girl informed.

Alexis simply nodded before she gave a look at the girl, "...have we met before? You look very familiar… but I can't place it."

"I'm not sure…"

"Oh… I think I know your name… hold on, let me think…" Alexis told her. She looked at the purple haired girl for a moment, thought it over and then sighed, "...Celina?"

The girl sighed and then looked at Alexis with a somewhat annoyed look, "Close. It's Serena."

"Name confusion happen a lot?" Jaden checked with Yuya.

"Like you wouldn't believe…" Yuya said with a look that clearly said there was a long story.

"So… are you two in the Slifer Red dorm? I didn't know they changed uniforms that much," Jaden questioned.

"Well, I attend the You Show Duel School, but I don't know about her," Yuya informed.

"I… was in Slifer Red. ...are we really at Duel Academy right now?" Serena asked.

"Yep, the very same school set up by the one and only Seto Kaiba," Jaden told them.

"...who?" both Yuya and Serena questioned.

"Seto Kaiba. You know… Greatest duelist next to Yugi Moto? Leader of Kaibacorp, strongest user of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon deck... guy who founded this academy." Jaden explained.

"...the Duel Academy I attended was founded by a person called Leo Akaba," Serena informed.

"...who?" Jaden and Alexis questioned.

"Wait a second… Yuya, come here a moment," Serena requested.

The two walked a short distance away from Jaden and Alexis to try and talk by themselves for a bit.

"Okay, this doesn't make any sense. I've never heard of a Seto Kaiba or a Yugi Moto once in my life," Serena began.

"Same here… though Yugi Moto does sound a little familiar..."

"You don't think we landed in another dimension that's parallel to the one I'm from, do you?"

"But… aren't there only supposed to be four dimensions?"

"Yeah. This is clearly the Fusion Dimension, but… isn't at the same time?"

"I'm a little worried about those two…" Jaden whispered to Alexis.

"Why's that?" Alexis checked.

"Because they clearly don't know some things that are pretty common knowledge…"

"Yea, that is a good point. They don't even seem to be from here…"

Suddenly, though, there was a loud thunder clap and everybody looked to see the sky was covered in dark clouds.

"Oh come on!" one person in a yellow uniform yelled.

"It was just getting good!"

Suddenly, both Jaden's and Yuya's Duel Disks began to shine with lights, getting the attention of their friends before what looked to be a door made of lights appeared before them.

" _ **...no… I-Impossible! I thought that we got rid of it forever…"**_ Yubel worriedly said.

' _Relax. We destroyed those guys in the past. Don't worry about it…'_ Jaden thought.

However, the group looked up into the sky to see that the lightning was continuing and it looked like it would keep getting worse.

"Hmm… I'm going to be going and seeing what's up," Jaden said as he began to approach the door of light.

"...be careful," Alexis told him.

"Trust me, I'll be fine," Jaden assured as he went through the portal.

"I'm going," Yuya told Serena.

"Then I'm going with you," Serena told him.

"No. Stay here and make sure everybody stays safe. I'll handle this."

"...alright. But if I end up finding Yuzu here, I'm telling her you left," Serena said in a teasing tone.

Yuya simply chuckled a bit at the joke before he headed through the door of light.

* * *

Jaden saw that he was now in what looked to be some sort of arena under a night sky that seemed to go on endlessly.

"Wow…"

"Jaden?"

Jaden turned around to see Yusei having wandered in.

"Hey, Yusei! Long time no see! How's the future been holding up since the last time we met?" Jaden smiled, the two shaking hands.

"Pretty good. I actually got married and Neo Domino City is at peace."

"Congrats, man," Jaden smiled.

"How are things between you and Alexis?"

"Well… we're back on speaking terms after my little nomadic journey finding duels, and things are going well. Why ask?"

Yusei gained a calm, yet coy, smile and slowly walked away, "Reasons."

"Can't tell me?"

"Nope. Future is like a movie. Why spoil the fun?"

"Jaden?" Yuya asked as he walked over.

"Who's this?" Yuesi asked.

"I'm Yuya Sakaki and I'm an Entertainment Duelist!"

"Yusei Fudo and I'm a Turbo Duelist!"

"OI~!"

"Oh no…" Yusei muttered.

Suddenly, Yuma rushed into the arena and looked around with an amazed look, "This is so cool!"

Yusei gave an annoyed sigh and then got noticed by Yuma.

"You, old man! What's the idea of telling me it was 9:00 when it was still early in the morning?!" Yuma yelled as he began to weakly slap Yusei.

"...who's the kid?" Jaden asked.

"My name is Yuma Tsukumo! I'm going to become the King of Games someday! I'll be even greater than Yugi Moto!" Yuma declared, stopping his weak attack on Yusei.

"You? Greater than Yugi? Like that's gonna happen. I've had the honor of meeting Yugi himself and you wouldn't even be a spark to the sun that he is in our world!" Yusei told Yuma.

"SHUT UP OLD MAN!" Yusei angrily yelled.

"Yeah… I don't think you'd be capable of beating Yugi…" Jaden muttered.

"Seriously, who's this Yugi?" Yuya questioned.

The three all turned to Yuya in confusion/surprise and Yuya simply blinked a bit.

"You don't know who the very first King of Games is?!" Yusei proclaimed.

"He doesn't know who Seto Kaiba is either…" Jaden added.

"Even I know who he is!" Yuma proclaimed.

"Well pardon me if I don't come from the same dimensions you guys hail from!" Yuya yelled before he quickly covered his mouth.

"Huh?"

" _It goes much further beyond different dimensions…"_ a voice proclaimed.

The four looked up to see a young man wearing a dark blue uniform, the jacket acting as a sort of cape to show his black tank top, he had wildly messy hair that looked like it was mostly black with violet trim along with golden yellow bangs, and most notable was the upside down pyramid puzzle with the Eye of Horus hanging from a chain around his neck.

"Yugi!" Yusei yelled.

"Not quite…"

"Then… the Nameless Pharaoh?" Jaden asked.

"Atem, technically," he responded.

Regardless of the mistake, the four newcomers looked up in awe at his direction.

"Why did you bring us all here?" Jaden asked.

"And where's Yugi?" Yusei questioned.

"We are currently in a realm between your timelines and dimensions. A realm where time has no bearing… which is important for the mission I require of you. Something has been destabilizing the stability between the timelines, putting all of our worlds at great risk. You probably have noticed things out of the ordinary such as locations being merged together, time not flowing like it should, dark clouds covering the sky…"

The four gave nods in response.

"This is a result of time being destabilized and, if we do not stop it, everything will collapse and then nothing will be left."

"So… why bring us together, Atem-san?" Yusei questioned.

"The villain responsible for this can be stopped if we duel them. However, only one of you can be sent to stop it. As I was incapable of locating Yugi, I decided to find the next four great dueling heroes. And from each of your timelines, you all have managed to do many great things. So, we will have a tournament to find the strongest among you four to find the strongest of you so that we can stop the villain responsible. Any questions?"

"So… what was the deal with those Synchro things?" Yuma asked.

"...Synchro what?"

"Yea, unless you've seen them before, I'm not surprised," Yusei sighed, "They are a group of monster cards that are summoned through tributing tuner monsters and the required number of monsters whose total levels equal the level of the Synchro monster."

"They are native to the timeline that Yusei Fudo is from, given the explanation. That aside, Yusei and Jaden are from the same timeline where those monsters exist. Yuma and Yuya, on the other hand, are from another one. Well… to be more accurate, they should be. Something happened that caused Yuya's point in time to get fragmented into four dimensions. This should explain why Yuya is familiar with Synchro monsters, as well as others the rest of you aren't aware of and explain why he doesn't know who Yugi and Kaiba are."

The others nodded and looked at the sky to see there appeared to be stars that lined up in a straight line, but then split up into what appeared to be two lines.

"The stars represent the two timelines we are all from. The bottom one is Yusei's and Jaden's, while the top one is Yuma's and Yuya's."

"Pretty…" Yuma smiled.

"...are you sure this kid is a hero?" Yusei asked

"SHUT IT, OLD MAN!"

"I am NOT that old!"

"Oh yea, says the guy who is clearly the oldest here!"

"Best of luck, Jaden," Yuya sighed as he extended his arm to shake Jaden's hand.

"You too, Yuya," Jaden told him as he accepted the hand shake.

* * *

Pikatwig: Well… that was a long first chapter.

KKD: Yea… but it was worth it.

Pikatwig: So… thoughts on the chapter?

KKD: It was pretty good all things considered. Yea, we used a lot of OC cards in that duel, but for one focusing on anime rules with someone real-legal cards, I'd say it turned out great.

Pikatwig: Yeah, it's cool. As for why it is we're mainly going off of the anime, well… more iconic imagery of the characters. And, for the record, I haven't watched any of the shows and he stopped after 5D.

KKD: Which wasn't properly finished…

Pikatwig: Neither was GX.

KKD: Why can't we get nice things?

Pikatwig: Rumors have it that GX was canceled because of complaints of how dark Season 3 was and 5D ended because the Japanese companies who own the rights to the anime sued 4Kids for $1.4 million for whatever reason. The latter stopped because they legally couldn't finish it.

KKD: Talk about a pain in the butt.

Pikatwig: 5D has a big mess of stuff from behind the scenes. There was a cult in Japan that was undergoing police investigation and they needed to rewrite the villains to be from the future, Carlie's Japanese VA was found out to be a member of the group and got fired, Akiza's Japanese VA wanted time to focus on her marriage so she got demoted, Konami higher ups forced Jack to become a good guy because of how well his cards were selling in real life...

KKD: Wow…

Pikatwig: It's about as bad behind the scenes as Power Rangers Lost Galaxy was.

KKD: Sheesh.

Pikatwig: So… what do you think of how the future of 5D was, as we showed it here?

KKD: Honestly, I think it's a nice one all things considered.

Pikatwig: And for the GX setting?

KKD: Really good. Nice to see Jaden and Alexis again.

Pikatwig: For those who read the GX story we posted earlier this year will recall some of the elements from that. We just put them in here to give a nod to that. These two stories aren't connected.

KKD: That story was given the pretense that several characters were altered to exist in the GX timeline similar to how they were altered for the dimensions in Arc-V, but that's a story for another day.

Pikatwig: Yeah. Also… the Arc-V English theme is really catchy.

KKD: Never heard it.

Pikatwig: I'll show you.

-One Viewing Later-

KKD: ...Eh. It's nothing too special. I've heard much better raps… but it's certainly better than Overly Obnoxious.

Pikatwig: Alright.

KKD: Just saying.

Pikatwig: Onto favorite parts. ...gotta say that I can't pick one. There were several nice moments that I liked all throughout the chapter that it's hard to pick just one.

KKD: I personally liked the duel we came up with, and anything with Jaden and Alexis.

Pikatwig: Yeah, I think they make a nice pair.

Random Voice: What about the canonicity of Jaden and Yubel?!

Pikatwig; That whole thing makes no sense and is being ignored for the story.

KKD: It's a little tricky and convoluted. Heck, I saw all of GX bar season 4, and even I still don't get it. Seriously, they almost pulled a retread of Yugi and Atem with Jaden being some other worldly prince in Season 3.

Pikatwig: Writer of the series mentioned in an interview that it was done because he felt like Jaden's personality wasn't good enough. He said something along the lines of "he wouldn't be able to stop the original villain of the first series and needs to change a bit". Something like that.

KKD: I get that, but some of Jaden's heart, character-wise, kinda got lost with that shift. I mean it just came right the heck outta nowhere!

Pikatwig: From what I've read… I can see your point. Plus, it kind of made him lose his friends and stuff. His last battle with Yugi set him right, as Bonds Beyond Time can show, but yeah. And, as I mentioned, rumors abound about parents complaining about the dark tone GX took for its third season ended up making it no longer air in North America.

KKD: Sheesh, I know Yu-Gi-Oh! has a habit of incorporating dark elements, but only with season 3 do they realize how crazy it can get? ...Then again, with how much of a downer that season was, and how Jaden got brainwashed in the end, I can see why.

Pikatwig: Plus how much 4Kids censored things.

KKD: …

Pikatwig: I watched their dub of Pokemon and Sonic X, so I know how they do things. Heck, speaking of the latter, during their adaptation of Sonic Adventure 2… they say Maria survived her gunshot wound that killed her in the games.

KKD: ...what? You serious?

Pikatwig: I am not kidding.

KKD: Let's move on… don't wanna get a headache… anyway, this was a pretty decent chapter to write, and I look forward to writing more.

Pikatwig: Same here. Well… guess it's time to wrap up.

KKD: Jaa ne.

Pikatwig: Just Live More.


	2. Chapter 2

Pikatwig: Well… I found an interesting video about the lead of Vrains… Yusaku I think his name is…

KKD: Yea, that's him.

Pikatwig: Also, in spite of how the change to the rules of the game… Vrains, evidently, has the highest viewership of the series since either the original or GX.

KKD: That's saying something considering a certain guy is on the writing staff, and seeing his past works… seriously, Yonemura is terrible with his tokusatsu in recent years, but anime… ranges from decent to good.

Pikatwig: ...wait, HE'S working on this show?!

KKD: That's what I heard. Though strangely, he seems to do much better work in anime, particularly with Precure and Pokemon of all things.

Pikatwig: He wrote the episode of Pokemon that pretty much scarred me for life.

KKD: ...true that. But he also wrote the recent Pokemon I Choose You movie, as well as the Sun and Moon episode where Misty and Brock came back. ...At least he does nostalgia better than the guy who wrote the Tri movies.

Pikatwig: ...I know he's been a writer for the show as far back the original season… but the fact he's written good stuff just sounds weird.

KKD: It's easy to knock someone down when they do something bad. But here's how I like to put things. Instead of focusing on just their bad works and denounce the creators for EVERYTHING they do, we have to accept the works as they are, and allow ourselves to understand where the creators are coming from, as well as enjoy what good material they did write.

Pikatwig: You make a valid point. I don't hate the guy, but I will not forgive him for making the episode of Pokemon that scarred me for life. ...and we can agree the Taisen movies aren't that great, right?

KKD: Yea, though based on what TB and I are doing on the side, I'd actually suggest checking out the series Precure, he did write some amazing works over there, and some of them are reminiscent of Sailor Moon at times… granted, it comes with the Magical Girl genre, but still… and I'm finding myself in a bit of an interesting position I haven't felt since I started getting into MLP.

Pikatwig: Already have other things I need to get around to watching, but that's besides the point. Anyway, let's go ahead and get back on topic.

KKD: Right. Card games that are both on and not on motorcycles. ...why do people think that is so funny? I don't get the joke behind that.

Pikatwig: Abridged guy.

KKD: Oh yeah.

Pikatwig: I saw some of the Abridged version of Bonds Beyond Time and there were some parts that made me chuckle.

KKD: Oh. Right.

Pikatwig: Not like we'll be making major references to it unless accidental. ...or in reference to how Abridged Yusei constantly commented "What is wrong with that guy's hair?" in that special. I remember thinking as a kid that Ash had weird hair… boy is his hair normal by comparison to the leads of THIS series.

KKD: Seriously, this series apparently has TWO hair styles per character, and I'm surprised the hair gel industry isn't making trillions off this… unless their hair became inorganic by this point. Who knows.

Pikatwig: Says something that Jaden has the most normal looking hairstyle out of the six leads.

KKD: Yea, no joke about that one.

Pikatwig: But, regardless, today is chapter 2 and we've been delaying long enough.

KKD: Disclaimers.

Disclaimers: Neither author owns the rights to anything in this story apart from original content. Yu-Gi-Oh!, Yu-Gi-Oh! GX, Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's, Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal, Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V, and Yu-Gi-Oh! Vrains are owned by Konami and their respective owners.

* * *

Jaden sat in a sort of waiting area as he looked at his deck, shuffling through his cards with a look of hesitation and concern on his face.

" _ **You scared?"**_ Yubel questioned.

"Nervous, I guess. It's just… well… I may have seen Yusei's battle style when we worked with him and Yugi to fight Paradox, but I don't fully grasp how I would even come close to beating him."

" _ **Relax. You've managed to win multiple bouts before with even less knowledge about how their decks worked. I'm positive you can win."**_

Jaden exhaled after a moment and just nodded a bit as he stood up.

" _ **By the way… did you notice anything off about the pharaoh?"**_

"Off in what way?"

" _ **I don't know. There was just something off about him…"**_

* * *

Meanwhile, over in Jaden's time period, Alexis was just looking at the darkened sky and seemed to be lost in thought.

"Hey, Alexis?" somebody called out, making her turn to see a familiar girl with blue hair.

"Oh. Hi Blair, it's been a long time," Alexis smiled.

"What's been going on with you since we graduated? I thought you said you were thinking about being a teacher," Blair commented.

"Tried it out, but didn't work out so well. It ended up just not being where I felt like I belonged…" Alexis responded.

"And how exactly did your Plan B end up becoming 'girl who loves to be barefoot and hypnotize people'?"

"I met a hypnotist after teaching didn't work out and she helped train me in not just hypnosis, but also being barefoot. I don't do the latter all the time, yet I did end up really liking it."

"Huh… I guess that explains the whole 'hypno duelist' thing… *giggles* But you not using actual hypnosis that much makes it a bit ironic," Blair responded, "So, you're more like a normal duelist who just happens to have an interest in hypnosis without showing off that trait, but constantly showing your dirty barefeet to people that think it's attractive for whatever silly reason."

Alexis gave her an annoyed glare before she ended up taking off her boots and getting out a card from her deck.

"Whatcha up to?" Blair questioned.

"I don't use these as often, but I do have my own personal hypnotic themed deck for outside of a duel. When I play the cards of this deck, this is when I get to show off my actual hypnosis training, and can make you do whatever I want you to do," Alexis boldly declared.

"Pfft! You're joking, right?"

"Wanna find out?" Alexis asked with a smug smile as she moved a card towards her duel disk.

"Why not? Show me your little parlor trick."

"Blair Saotome…" Alexis whispered as she put a Mass Hypnosis card into her disk, "You will soon know why messing with a Hypno Duelist is a bad idea."

Blair was about to say something, but then gained a white, black, and light blue colored spiral in her eyes and bowed before Alexis.

"There… now then, Blair, why don't you slip out of your footwear and relax?" Alexis commanded.

"Yes Mistress…" Blair nodded before slipping out of her shoes.

"Good," Alexis smiled as she looked at Blair, "We're still friends and all, don't get me wrong, but if you mock my profession… then I will make you think otherwise. From now on, I want you to respect Hypno Duelists. We are just people who help others relax, get past their issues, and encourage others to be happy. That having been said… I wasn't always into being barefoot, but my mentor told me that it is very relaxing and helps a Hypno Duelist out. And it often does. Heck, there's a reason the Foot Fetish Magician Girl exists. It's a form of relaxation for the Magician Girl who turns into it in a way. ...but, anyway, respect girls who do enjoy being barefoot. Understand?"

"I understand, Mistress…"

Alexis simply took the card out of her deck and Blair snapped out of her trance.

"...okay… didn't expect that…" Blair admitted.

"But it can be very enjoyable. Don't you think so?" Alexis asked.

Blair simply nodded before she eventually walked away from Alexis and the blonde soon noticed Serena was standing nearby.

"...remind me to not make you angry," Serena nervously commented.

"Relax. I don't plan on doing anything to hurt you," Alexis said with an assuring smile.

Serena simply nodded her head a bit, then she glanced around to see people being happy at the reunion, and gave off a sigh.

"Something the matter?"

"...the school I went to wasn't this happy. We just dueled so we could get ready to be on the front lines…"

"Wow… your home doesn't sound happy…" Alexis commented.

Serena just looked to her bracelet and then outside at the dark storm clouds.

* * *

Jaden and Yusei arrived at the center of the arena, each preparing their respective decks.

"Been hoping that we would get a chance to duel someday," Jaden admitted.

"I'll admit, I've been hoping for the chance as well," Yusei commented, "But don't think I'm going to go easy on you."

"Same here."

After the deck shuffling, both walked over to their respective ends of the field to get started.

"Go Judai-san! Kick the old guy's butt!" Yuma yelled from the stands.

"Seriously, I'm not that old, kid! Stop calling me that!" Yusei snapped.

"...it's Jaden…" Jaden corrected.

"I feel bad for that Yuya kid…" Yusei commented.

"I'm just confused by a lot of this, and that's a lot seeing I have alternate dimensions to worry about," Yuya admitted from the stands.

"Well, you ready, Yusei?"

"As ready as I'll ever be!"

"Get your game on!"

"Let's rev it up!"

(Jaden: 4000; Yusei: 4000)

"I'll go first. First, I'll summon Elemental Hero Shadow Mist!" Jaden declared, quickly summoning a female warrior monster with blue skin and wearing a black armor that covered her entire body.

(Elemental HERO Shadow Mist; Lvl 4; ATK: 1000; DEF: 1500)

"I set two cards face down. Your turn," Jaden stated.

"Alright," Yusei responded as he drew his card, "I summon Speed Warrior in Attack Mode!"

From a beam of light, a warrior with a suit designed for speed appeared, with a pilot's mask for breathing, one piece goggles, and many smooth parts.

(Speed Warrior; Lvl 2; ATK: 900; DEF: 400)

"Your Speed Warrior only has 900 attack points. You can't beat my Shadow Mist," Jaden commented.

"My Speed Warrior has a special ability. In the turn I summon it, its attack doubles until the end of the battle phase!" Yusei smirked in declaration.

(Speed Warrior; ATK: 900-1800)

"Now, Speed Warrior, attack!"

Speed Warrior then rushed over to Jaden's side of the field, and before he knew it, Shadow Mist was destroyed.

(Jaden: 4000-3200)

"Man, that monster's fast," Jaden muttered.

"You can't expect less from a guy who has to deal with dueling on motorcycles," Yusei smirked, "I'll set one card face down. Speed Warrior's attack points turn back to normal."

(Speed Warrior; ATK: 1800-900)

"I draw!" Jaden yelled as he took out a card, "Alright. First, I summon Elemental Hero Stratos in Attack Mode!"

The hero to emerge was one mostly in blue, having white legs and helmet with blue armor, and wings similar to a gyrocopter.

(Elemental HERO Stratos; Lvl 4; ATK: 1800; DEF: 300)

"Next, I activate Hero's Call. It lets me summon another Elemental Hero from my deck as long as it is Level 4 or lower. And I choose Elemental Hero Lady Heat!"

From a burst of flames, appeared a ginger haired woman with green eyes while wearing an outfit of red and white, almost resembling a magical girl in a sense.

(Elemental HERO Lady Heat; Lvl 4; ATK: 1300; DEF: 1000)

"I throw down a face down. Your move."

Yusei nodded, drawing his next card and smiling a bit.

"First, I play Reincarnation of Hope! With this, I discard two cards from my hand, after which I can add a monster card from my deck to my hand after my second standby phase," Yusei informed, discarding two cards, "Next, I summon Junk Synchron in Attack Mode!"

From the light appeared a small orange-clad bot with a white scarf, goggles, and an engine more visible.

(Junk Synchron; Lvl 3; ATK: 1300; DEF; 500)

"Since I Normal Summoned Junk Synchron, I can Special Summon a Level 2 or lower monster from my Graveyard. I Special Summon my discarded Sonic Chick from my Graveyard!"

In response, a small pink chick with green eyes, a green collar, yellow beak, and bright red boots landed on the field.

(Sonic Chick; Lvl 1; ATK: 300; DEF: 300)

"And now I activate the effect of my Quillbolt Hedgehog in my Graveyard which allows me to Special Summon it back from the Graveyard as long as I control a Tuner Monster!"

This time, a hedgehog with quills on its back popped out.

(Quillbolt Hedgehog; Lvl 2; ATK: 800; DEF: 800)

"And now, I'll tune Level 3 Junk Synchron with Level 2 Quillbolt Hedgehog and Level 1 Sonic Chick!" Yusei announced.

Junk synchron pulled the engine cord from its back before turning into three green rings with a star in each. Then, Sonic Chick and Quillbolt Hedgehog jumped into the rings, turning into stars themselves.

"From three will come one! And from that one will come great strength!"

(3 + 2 + 1 = 6)

"I Synchro Summon Junk Gardna in Defense Mode!"

From this light of the stars merging came a humanoid robot with green and yellow armor, massive arm guards that acted as shields and black pipes coming out its back.

(Junk Gardna; Lvl 6; ATK: 1400; DEF: 2600)

"I set one card face down and end my turn."

"Alright. I draw!" Jaden announced. He looked at the card and then gave a soft gasp as he saw it was a Spell Card that depicted a spiral in the center of the image, _'I must've accidentally picked up one of Alexis' cards after Yuya bumped into us. Wait…'_

He glanced up towards Junk Gardna and then gained a small smile, "Perfect. First, I tribute Stratos and Lady Heat! And in return, you'll get to see a familiar face, my ace monster! Behold, I summon Elemental HERO Neos!"

Neos then took the field and stood ready.

(Elemental HERO Neos; Lvl 7; ATK: 2500; DEF: 2000)

"Next, I play the Spell Card Hypnotic Control! This lets me gain control over one of your monsters for the remainder of the duel unless it is destroyed in battle. I choose your Junk Gardna!" Jaden declared.

"What?!" Yusei gawked as Junk Gardna floated over to Jaden's side of the field and sat next to Neos, "Where'd you get that from?!"

"I won't tell," Jaden smugly commented.

' _Hypnotic Control? ...that probably was given to him by his girlfriend. But when did she give it to him?'_ Yusei thought to himself.

"Next, I play Polymerization to fuse Junk Gardna and Elemental Hero Neos!" Jaden declared as the two monsters on Jaden's field leaped into the air, "You might recall this one from our duel with Paradox, Yusei. Now, you'll get to see what it's like to face it! I fusion summon Elemental Hero Neos Knight!"

The two monsters merged in a bright light within the sky. Neos quickly reappeared, this time resembling a medieval knight with armor, a massive double-bladed sword, and a huge shield.

(Elemental HERO Neos Knight; Lvl 7; ATK: 2500; DEF: 1000)

"Now then, Neos Knight, attack Speed Warrior!"

Neos Knight took his blade and rushed in, swinging the weapon at Speed Warrior and easily beat it.

(Yusei: 4000-2400)

"Neos Knight's effect activates and allows him to strike you directly! Go for it, Neos!" Jaden shouted as Neos leaped up, ready to swing on Yusei to end the battle.

"I activate my Trap Card, Defense Draw! This turn, I negate the damage I take from you and draw a card," Yusei informed, Neos Knight being blocked by a barrier as Yusei drew a card, "Next I activate another Trap Card, Miracle's Wake! Now I get to Special Summon a monster destroyed by battle back to my field, and I choose Speed Warrior! Welcome back, Speed Warrior. It's been too long…"

(Speed Warrior; Lvl 2; ATK: 900; DEF: 400)

"I set one card face down. Your move."

"Ok then. I draw!" Yusei announced, "First, I tribute Speed Warrior so that I can summon Salvage Warrior!"

Speed Warrior erupted in a bright light, replaced by a bulky blue-skinned man wearing green pants, black boots, an orange vest, a purple helmet, and wielding a massive double chain.

(Salvage Warrior; Lvl 5; ATK: 1900; DEF: 1600)

"Since I tribute summoned this monster, I can recall one Tuner Monster in my Graveyard and I choose Junk Synchron!"

The orange tuner then reappeared.

(Junk Synchron; Lvl 3; ATK: 1300; DEF; 500)

"Now, I tune Junk Synchron and Salvage Warrior!" Yusei announced as Junk Synchron pulled its cord, turning into rings as Salvage Warrior soon entered the rings and turned into stars, bringing a total of eight, "From two come one. And from one will come great strength. Clustering wishes will become a new shining star! Become the path its light shines upon. I Synchro Summon my ace monster!"

(5 + 3 = 8)

"Take flight, Stardust Dragon!"

From the stars appeared a white dragon with light blue scales in places as well as bright sapphire blue armor on its shoulders and chest.

(Stardust Dragon; Lvl 8; ATK: 2500; DEF: 2000)

"Now, I activate my One for One Spell Card! With this, I send one monster from my hand to Special Summon a level one monster from my hand or the Graveyard. I send Unknown Synchron to the Graveyard to Special Summon Tuningware!"

From the smoke appeared a small figure with green hands and feet, a yellow scarf, and a pan on its head

(Tuningware; Lvl 1; ATK: 100; DEF: 300)

"Now, I normal Summon Synchron Carrier."

Leaping onto the field was an orange and yellow robot with a crane on its back and hooks for hands.

(Synchron Carrier; Lvl 2; ATK: 0; DEF: 1000)

"And now I play the Spell Card Iron Recall. This lets me draw one monster card from my Graveyard, and I choose Quillbolt Hedgehog!"

(Quillbolt Hedgehog; Lvl 2; ATK: 800; DEF: 800)

"Now I'll Synchro Summon again!" Yusei announced, the Synchron Carrier jumping up and giving a thumbs up with its hook before turning into rings again as Tuningware and Quillbolt Hedgehog flew up into the rings, forming the stars, "Now the wishes of these monsters shall combine into a guardian of the stars! I Synchro Summon a new monster, T.G. Star Guardian!"

(2 + 2 + 1 = 5)

From the flash of light came a warrior that resembled a biker with blue spiky hair while also donned in blue, gold, and silver armor that resembled a motorcycle in a way with a red visor, and two blades.

(T.G. Star Guardian; Lvl 5; ATK: 100; DEF: 2200)

"Whoa! Didn't expect that," Jaden commented.

"Just because my town isn't facing any big dangers, doesn't mean that I can't prepare myself with new plans! I set one card facedown and end my turn," Yusei proclaimed.

"Alright. I draw!" Jaden announced, drawing his next card, "Ok, I play Neo-Spacian Air Hummingbird!"

From the light appeared a humanoid red hummingbird with white wings on the back, a yellow beak and gray talons.

(Neo-Spacian Air Hummingbird; Lvl 3; ATK: 800; DEF: 600)

"Now, I play the Spell Card Card of Sanctity! You know this one, but for those watching who don't know, this lets us draw until we each have six cards," Jaden declared, both players filling up their hands, "And now I activate Air Hummingbird's special ability! This allows me to gain 500 life points for each card in your hand!"

To Yusei's surprise, what appeared to be holographic flowers appeared on his cards, one per each card, as Air Hummingbird briefly shrunk and flew over, suckling nectar from the flowers.

(Jaden: 3200-6200)

"Next I play Neos Double! This card allows me to summon another Elemental Hero Neos!" Jaden announced.

Suddenly, a second version of Elemental HERO Neos appeared on the field.

(Elemental HERO Neos; Lvl 7; ATK: 2500; DEF: 2000)

"And now I play another Polymerization! I combine the Effect Monster Neo-Spacian Air Hummingbird with Elemental Hero Neos to Fusion Summon Elemental Hero Brave Neos!"

Air Hummingbird just turned into a light that went into Neos' chest, causing the Elemental Hero to bulk up, gain more blue accents, larger shoulderpads, larger blades from his elbows and on his head, giving him a much heroic and strong look.

(Elemental HERO Brave Neos; Lvl 7; ATK: 2500; DEF: 2000)

"Now, I attack your Stardust Dragon with Brave Neos!"

"Our Monsters have the same amount of Attack Points. They'll just destroy each other," Yusei pointed out as Jaden smirked.

"Not if I play this trap card. I play Heroic Charge! This card lets me boost the power of any Elemental Hero on the field by 1000 at the cost of 100 Life Points until the end of my turn."

(Jaden: 6200-6100)

(Elemental HERO Brave Neos; ATK: 2500-3500)

"Now, attack!" Jaden proclaimed.

"Not so fast. I play my Trap Card, Scrap Iron Scarecrow!" Yusei shouted, causing a scarecrow made of scrap metal to pop up, forming a barrier to block Brave Neos' attack, "This card let's me end the battle phase with no damage, and I can set it back down for future battles."

"Not bad… I'll end my turn."

"My turn. I draw!" Yusei announced, "Since it's my second turn since Reincarnation of Hope, I can add a Monster to my Hand. I'll draw one monster card and then I'll play this Spell Card, Cards of Consonance. I discard one Dragon type Tuner with 1000 or less Attack Points and then draw two cards. I discard Majestic Dragon!"

He put the card into the Graveyard and then got out two cards, "Perfect. First, I play my Spell Card Double Summon to let me Normal Summon two monsters this turn. Now, I'll first summon Sunlight Unicorn in Defense Mode!"

A unicorn with a blue mane and tail neighed as it appeared.

(Sunlight Unicorn; Lvl 4; ATK: 1800; DEF: 1000)

Jaden simply stared at the monster for a moment and didn't know how to react. In response, Yusei simply got ready for his next move.

"Now, I'll summon Steam Synchron!"

In a puff of steam, a little robot with a body resembling a steam engine with arms, legs, and eyes emerged.

(Steam Synchron; Lvl 3; ATK: 600; DEF: 800)

"And now, with these two monsters, I'll ready another Synchro Summon!" Yusei announced.

Steam Synchron tooted its horn, letting off steam before turning into rings, the Unicorn leaping in before they formed 7 stars total.

(3 + 4 = 7)

* * *

Luna sensed something and could almost feel a sudden shift of energy.

" _From two come one…"_

"And from that one will come great magic…" Luna whispered as she held her hands together.

* * *

"Let the magic that lives in each of these creatures cross and become eternal life! Synchro Summon! I call forth the mighty and majestic Ancient Fairy Dragon!"

From the light, a giant blue dragon with golden armor and a red headcrest with a blue gemstone appeared, its head having green hair that flowed through the wind a sit spread its fairy-like wings.

(Ancient Fairy Dragon; Lvl 7; ATK: 2100; DEF: 3000)

"Now, I activate Ancient Fairy Dragon's Effect. I can Special Summon a Level 4 or lower Monster from my hand. I choose White Rose Dragon!"

In a burst of petals appeared a small black scaled dragon with purple eyes, and white wings with a large white rose blossoming out its back.

(White Rose Dragon; Lvl 4; ATK: 1200; DEF: 1000)

"Because I activated the effect, I end my turn."

"I'll draw then," Jaden announced as he looked at his cards for a moment, "Alright. First, I'll summon Elemental Hero Sparkman."

The blue and golden armored electric warrior shot up and stood ready.

(Elemental HERO Sparkman; Lvl 4; ATK: 1600; DEF: 1400)

"Next, I'll play Polymerization!"

"How many copies of that card do you have, man?!" Yusei demanded to know.

"How much hair gel do you use in the morning to get your hair like that?" Jaden jokingly responded.

"...touche," Yusei shrugged.

"Now I'll fuse Sparkman with Elemental Hero Necroshade! With these two heroes combined, I Fusion Summon Elemental Hero Darkbright!"

With that, a ghostly version of a dark armored figure merged with Sparkman, sending his golden armor into different spots as well as giving him shoulderpads that resembled golden wings, while the blue was replaced with black and red with some purple.

(Elemental HERO Darkbright; Lvl 6; ATK: 2000; DEF: 1000)

"Now, I'll play a spell card. Monster Reborn! You know this, it lets me summon a monster from my Graveyard, and I choose Elemental Hero Lady Heat!"

(Elemental HERO Lady Heat; Lvl 4; ATK: 1300; DEF: 1000)

"Now, I'll have Lady Heat attack your White Rose Dragon. Get her!"

"I think you forgot my old friend, Scrap Iron Scarecrow!" Yusei pointed out as the scarecrow popped out and stopped the attack.

"Of course. Well, I'll have Darkbright attack your Star Guardian!" Jaden shouted as Darkbright leaped in and managed to hit T.G. Star Guardian.

"I play my Trap Card, Tuner Heal! Before my Tuner Monster can go to the Graveyard, the damage that would be dealt to my life points by the difference in Attack Points is instead converted into Life Points! While Star Guardian is still going to be sent to the Graveyard, his defeat will not have been in vain."

(Yusei: 2400-4300)

T.G. Star Guardian gave a thumbs up to Yusei before it went to the Graveyard.

"Not bad. But you're still in trouble. Remember how Brave Neos got an Attack boost? That boost won't be going away. Brave Neos, attack Stardust Dragon!"

"Not so fast! I discard Swift Scarecrow from my hand to stop your attack and end your battle phase!"

Jaden groaned as Yusei gained a confidant smile.

"Now, I draw!" he announced, "I now summon Witch of the Black Rose!"

A flurry of purple petals appeared as a young girl with purple hair in a black and white maid's outfit while holding a blue tipped wand stood with a smile.

(Witch of the Black Rose; Lvl 4; ATK: 1700; DEF: 1200)

"...not what I'd expect from you…" Jaden admitted.

"This isn't my card, per say. My lovely wife Akiza gave it to me after she retired from dueling. This is one of but many gifts she has given me. Now, I'll play Level Down, Attack Up. At the cost of lowing White Rose Dragon's Level by 1, she'll gain 200 extra Attack Points. And, by the way, that Attack Point boost will last even if I use it for a Synchro Summon!"

"Well… that oughta be a problem…" Jaden muttered.

"And now I'll tune Level 4 Witch of the Black Rose with Level 3 White Rose Dragon!"

With that, the Witch cast a flurry of petals that turned into four rings which the dragon flew through, turning into three stars, a total of seven stars flying through the air.

* * *

"Yusei, where are you?!" Akiza shouted as she roamed around. She eventually came across Yusei's Duel Runner in the middle of the street, "...Yusei? ...something must've happened to him… I need to hurry and find him.

She could then sense something as she almost froze and heard Yusei talking.

" _From two come one! And this one is a special gift from my special someone."_

Akiza gasped softly, smiled a little, and then held her hands together.

"A cold flame envelops the entire world…"

* * *

"Black flower, bloom!" Yusei continued.

An image of Akiza seemed to appear next to him in a more elaborate white and red dress as they stood together.

"Synchro Summon! Appear, Black Rose Dragon!" their voices said in unison.

From the flurry of petals that went from purple to red appeared a massive black dragon whose body apart from its neck and head appeared to be covered in large red rose petals, thorns coming off its tail and.

(Black Rose Dragon; Lvl 7; ATK: 2400; DEF: 1800)

" _ **You saw that, right?"**_ Yubel asked.

"Yeah. Wonder what that was…" Jaden muttered.

"And now I'm ready. Stardust Dragon, attack Elemental Hero Darkbright!"

The large white dragon roared before blasting a blue and white beam of energy at Darkbright. Darkbright then vanished and Jaden covered his eyes from the bright light of the attack.

(Jaden: 6100-5600)

"Dangit…"Jaden muttered.

"Now, Ancient Fairy Dragon, attack Lady Heat!"

"No you don't! I'll send Necro Gardna to my Graveyard and then Banish it from play to defend my Lady Heat from your attack!"

With the ghostly figure, Lady Heat managed to be defended from the attack.

"Not bad. I didn't anticipate that," Yusei commented with a smile, "You're not half bad. Now then, I set a card facedown and end my turn."

"My turn. I activate Pot of Greed to draw two cards!" Jaden declared, having done his normal draw before drawing twice more upon activating the spell, "Next, I'll use Premature Burial. I pay 800 life points to bring back Darkbright from the Graveyard!

(Jaden: 5600-4800)

(Elemental HERO Darkbright; Lvl 6; ATK: 2000; DEF: 1000)

"Now, I'll play another Polymerization! I combine Lady Heat and Brave Neos together! With this burning passion combining with a brave hero, you're going to go down! I Fusion Summon Elemental Hero Nova Master!" Jaden shouted as Lady Heat turned into a fire that surrounded Brave Neos until he was blocked from sight, and when it died he was replaced with a very knight-like figure with black skin and an armor that was very fire-themed with spiked edges, colored red, orange, and yellow, and even having a flowing cape.

(Elemental HERO Nova Master; Lvl 8; ATK: 2600; DEF: 2100)

"And now, to prevent you from using anymore of your future tricks for a little while, I play Dimensional Barrier! I'll declare a card type that you can't summon for the remainder of the turn and I choose your Synchros!" Jaden proclaimed.

"Tch! I wish I could've seen something like that coming…" Yusei growled.

* * *

Meanwhile, back at Yusei's time, Akiza continued her search for Yusei. It took her some time before she noticed the odd signs that lead to unfamiliar towns and then noticed a bluenette roaming around.

"Hey. Are you lost?" Akiza asked.

"Kind of. I was trying to find my way to my school, but I can't find it. It's like the area around mee keeps changing…" the girl pointed out, Akiza taking notice of her rather different Duel Disk, "Can you help me?"

"Yeah. What's your name?"

"I'm Rio. What's yours?"

"Akiza. Follow me and I'll help you out," Akiza smiled.

Rio smiled as she followed Akiza forward and down the path towards the city.

* * *

"Well, I'll play Card of Sanctity. Like you did earlier, this lets us draw until we have six cards," Yusei declared, both duelists filling their hands accordingly, "And now I normal summon another card that came from a retired dueling friend. I play Dunames Dark Witch!"

Then in a spark of lightning, a woman appeared looking somewhat angelic with white wings, purple hair, and wearing a red and white outfit.

(Dunames Dark Witch; Lvl 4; ATK: 1800; DEF: 1050)

"...that's kind of cute…" Jaden admitted.

"And now, I tribute this monster!" Yusei declared, causing it to vanish.

"Aw…"

" _ **Focus, dummy!"**_

"And I now summon Fortune Lady Earth!"

The next monster to emerge was a brunette woman with glasses wearing a dark blue and black outfit under an orange dress

(Fortune Lady Earth; Lvl 6; ATK: ?; DEF: ?)

"This card gains Attack and Defense points by 400 for its level. So, for now, it gains 2400!"

(Fortune Lady Earth; ATK: ?-2400; DEF: ?-2400)

"Now then, Stardust Dragon, attack Neos Knight!"

"Not so fast! I play Double Spell to take a Spell card out of your Graveyard, at the cost of sending one Spell Card of my own to the Graveyard, and I choose your Defense Draw. I now activate Defense Draw!" Jaden proclaimed.

The dragon was stopped before Jaden drew another card.

"I end my turn then."

"First, I'll play Dust Tornado to destroy your Scrap Iron Scarecrow!" Jaden announced as the facedown card shattered in a tornado, "Next, I play Neo Space!"

A rainbow field took over the entire arena as Jaden gave a smile.

"A field spell?" Yusei checked.

"This Spell grants all monsters that require Elemental Hero Neos as fusion material, as well as Neos himself, 500 ATK points. And as the Pharaoh used to say 'but wait, there's more'! I now use the two Spell Cards I drew from Pot of Greed! I equip Nova Master with Fighting Spirit and I equip Neos Knight with United We Stand! For each face-up monster I control, the monster I equip this to gains 800 ATK and DEF points!"

(Elemental HERO Neos Knight; ATK: 2500-4900; DEF: 1000-3400)

"And Fighting Spirit gives Nova Master 300 ATK for each monster you control!" Jaden declared as Nova Master gained a gold aura.

(Elemental HERO Nova Master; ATK: 2600-3800)

"Now, Nova Master, attack Fortune Lady Earth!"

Nova Master leaped in and struck the Fortune Lady with a powerful punch.

(Yusei: 4200-2800)

"And now I equip Elemental Hero Darkbright with Element Sword!" Jaden shouted as Darkbright gained a sword with a blade engulfed in light, "As long as I attack a monster that is of a different attribute to the one I equip this card to, say my Darkbright, it gains 800 more attack points for its next attack. I choose your Ancient Fairy Dragon. Darkbright, strike her down with your boost in attack!"

(Elemental HERO Darkbright; ATK: 2000-2800)

Darkbright then roared as it rushed in, leaping into the air before slashing its blade down on Ancient Fairy Dragon.

(Yusei: 2800-2100)

"And, finally, Neos Knight! Attack Black Rose Dragon!"

"...I play my Trap Card. Shift! I change the positions of my two monsters and then play this Equip Spell of my own, Stardust Boost! It'll let my Stardust Dragon get enough Attack Points so that your attack will only do 100 points of damage to my life points!"

Suddenly, Black Rose Dragon was teleported, and Stardust Dragon took its place, roaring as it grew in power.

(Stardust Dragon; ATK: 2500-4800)

Neos Knight slashed at Stardust Dragon, causing the dragon to erupt into pixels.

(Yusei: 2100-2000)

"I'm still in this game!"

"No you're not. You forgot about Neos Knight's effect! It can attack twice in one turn! Neos Knight, attack again, this time on Black Rose Dragon!"

Neos Knight charged forward and slashed at Black Rose Dragon. The dragon erupted in petals and pixels, leaving Yusei to get knocked down onto his back from the force of the blast.

(Yusei: 2000-0)

"And that's game!" Jaden smirked, giving Yusei his signature salute.

"Good game, Jaden," Yusei said.

"Thanks, Yusei," Jaden smiled as he helped Yusei up, "Had it not been for that lucky draw that got me Neos Knight, I don't think I would've won."

"It was a smart move to use. Again, good game," Yusei smiled as he walked off.

' _...I only really won that duel because of Alexis' card. Gotta remember to thank her later.'_

* * *

"Honestly… had I not gone through the stuff I went through while I was at this school, I don't think I would've believed you're from another dimension…" Alexis admitted to Serena, "Heck, all that sounded a bit like something that could reasonably happened."

"Mind my asking what exactly happened to you to make you believe me?" Serena questioned.

"Let's see… I dealt with a sort of cult that tried to take over the school via hypnosis using some weird light power, as well as having to deal with my entire school being dropped into another world entirely. Plus I kind of died in a sense while in that other dimension, so… yeah…"

"How did you all deal with that?"

"I… can't exactly remember how I dealt with it. But… I know Jaden didn't take it all well. He went a bit crazy before trying to shut the rest of us out of his life. ...I think part of why I became a hypnotist in a way was to try and do something to help ease the burdens he has. It wasn't easy, but I hope I can help him."

"...you love him?"

"That was pretty transparent to everybody but him."

"Wow…" Serena gawked, "...my friend Yuya only even came on this war in other dimensions so he could find his not-girlfriend. It's… been slow in trying to find her."

"Huh…" Alexis commented.

Serena then glanced over to see some other students dueling and one of them was using a deck themed after parasites. She squinted her eyes for a moment to get a closer look at the deck before she gave a gasp.

"What?"

Serena was silent as she looked to her deck and then outside, "...I…"

Alexis was about to speak, but then she gasped as her eyes turned silver for a fraction of a second as she witnessed images flash through her head.

"...they did something to my head…" Serena muttered, "...oh my…"

* * *

"...we're still lost…" Rio sighed.

"Sorry kid. You're right… it does seem like everything around us keeps changing…" Akiza commented before there was a loud boom of thunder, "...weather's starting to get kind of bad. I suggest you stay with me until it clears up."

"Alright, Akiza-san."

* * *

"And then I snapped awake and smacked him upside the head!" Carly concluded.

"Wow…" Luna gawked.

"What in the world are you two talking about?" Akiza asked as she walked back in.

"Hey Akiza," Carly waved.

"Um… Akiza? Any reason you left without putting your shoes or anything on?"

Akiza's blinked and looked down at her feet to see they were bare, making her nervously scratch the back of her head, "...I just forgot to."

"Wow… I didn't even notice…" Rio commented.

"Yea… oh. Uh, this is Rio. She got kind of lost and with the weather looking bad, I said she could stay here."

"Hi…" she greeted.

"Hello," Luna said with a calm smile, "How are you?"

"...little nervous, but I'm doing alright."

"That's a cool looking Duel Disk you got there. I've never seen it before," Carly admitted.

"Really? These are everywhere where I'm from…"

Akiza gave a soft 'hmm' as she thought of why that would be.

* * *

"You've been looking pale for a while, Serena. Are you alright?" Alexis asked.

"...you know how people can have their life flash before their eyes? Well… I saw something that I didn't do… or… I guess haven't done yet? Maybe? ...I betrayed my friends because some villain stuck some kind of parasite into my head and made me sell out one of my friends to my dimension's Duel Academy. I couldn't control myself and it was just... like I got locked up somewhere in my head and… it was so unsettling. I couldn't fight it… and it nearly got Yuya too…" Serena stated fearfully, tears dripping from her eyes, "I'm… I'm… I…"

Alexis kneeled down to Serena's side and gave her a comforting hug to try to calm her down. Serena's tears fell down onto the ground as she calmed down a little, accepting Alexis' embrace.

"It's okay… I'll be happy to help you calm down…" Alexis said with an assuring and motherly tone.

"Thank you," Serena smiled softly.

* * *

"You said this Duel Disk was called a…?" Akiza began to ask.

"A D-Pad," Rio informed.

Akiza took out her phone, searched it, trying to locate any signs of one for sale.

"By the way… can one of you guys explain what that Synchro Monster thingie is? I never heard of them before today."

The three others all stared at her out of great confusion.

"...what?"

"You don't know what a Synchro Monster is? It's a type of monster that requires a Tuner Monster and monster cards that have levels total to the Synchro monster's level. You call them via a Synchro Summon," Carly stated.

"If I use monsters that aren't normal ones, they're usually called in via an Xyz Summon."

"...an Xyz what? How do you even spell that?" Luna asked.

"X-Y-Z."

"...what…?" Carly blinked.

"I have a thought. I kind of sensed an odd aura around you. Like… it's not native to our world and isn't natural. Almost… alien in nature."

Rio gave a worried glance down to her Duel Disk before she nervously brushed her hand against it...

* * *

Serena calmed down and managed to take a deep breath before she looked at Alexis, "Thanks Alexis…"

"No problem. I'm just glad I could help you calm down," Alexis smiled.

"Heh. ...I wish I got to know a version of you back home if one is there. She would be pretty cool if she was anything like you…"

"...I think there might be one. Cause… well… I'm recalling stuff about another Duel Academy that's kind of like what you told me… evil, trying to rule other dimensions, turning people into cards, and overall kinda crazy. And… I remember defending somebody who looks a lot like you. She had pink hair and was running from people trying to drag her to the Duel Academy of your world. ...you have a sister?"

Serena looked a bit confused before it clicked in her head who she was talking about, "Well… at least you didn't think she was me. I get a lot of that…"

"Probably why I thought I recognized you. It's so weird…" Alexis commented, "So… is she your sister?"

"It's VERY complicated… even I don't fully get it. Trust me, it's better if I don't tell you to much…" Serena responded.

"Alright, I gotcha," Alexis said.

"...Alexis?" a girl's voice, somewhat similar to Serena's, spoke.

"Huh?" Alexis blinked as she turned to her right, "...oh. Hey, Serena. Look."

Serena turned and looked to see a girl with pink hair, while wearing a pale blue vest, white shirt, magenta tie, burgundy pleated skirt, black stockings, and pink shoes.

"...hi Serena," she greeted.

"Yuzu…"

* * *

Pikatwig: The first duel of the tournament is over and now Yuzu has appeared before Serena and Alexis.

KKD: Well this won't get confusing at all.

Pikatwig: Alexis appeared in Arc-V late in the game… and was the only returning character from a past season that people were unanimously happy to see. Others all had issues with the other past characters that reappeared.

KKD: Of course people would be against that.

Pikatwig: Given the issues with Crow and Jack that people had, plus how the Zexal veteran was said to be to out of character to be the same guy… I can see why.

KKD: Yeesh! Talk about a controversy.

Pikatwig: Anyway, thoughts on the chapter?

KKD: Overall enjoyable, giving characters potential interactions we otherwise wouldn't have seen, and yet the duel was my favorite part of the whole thing.

Pikatwig: What do you think of Yusei using the cards of Akiza and Luna?

KKD: It's nice seeing how the girls appear to have stopped dueling after their series' run.

Pikatwig: And thoughts on how Jaden ended up winning?

KKD: I thought it was very cool how we kept to the show and game, and made sure he won. It's really fun.

Pikatwig: And he kind of got lucky that Yuya bumped into him and he happened to accidentally picked up one of Alexis' cards. Something that would fit the tone of this series all to well from my understanding.

KKD: No joke.

Pikatwig: Now for the whole "memories of things to come appearing" thing. I had that in mind for a while and partly for some comedic stuff/heartfelt stuff in the coming chapters. I don't know if how Serena reacted to what is in her future would be out of character, but it at least seems kind of realistic for somebody at least 13 or 14 years old to react.

KKD: For those who don't know, late in the season, one of the villains put these parasite things into the heads of Serena and two of Yuzu's other counterparts to make them work for the villainous group, and unlike most cases of hypnosis in the show, it's a rather disturbing thing where they lose control to the parasites.

Pikatwig: Especially how we the audience didn't know about that when Serena seemingly betrayed the heroes. It was just so creepy… and, plus, unlike other instances of mind control altering eyes, Serena's didn't alter beyond just slightly changing color. ...and it's inconsistent since the other two counterparts and Yuzu when they got to her all had altered eyes like Alexis did when she was hypnotized, but besides the point. It was seriously creepy and, heck, even the leader of the villains thought it was crossing a line!

KKD: Talk about nutso, even by Yu-Gi-Oh! standards.

Pikatwig: And the villain even tried to do it to Yuya and it almost worked. Had it not been for his inner darkness literally eradicating the thing into nothingness… that would've been game over for whatever heroes were left.

KKD: Ok, I think we're done talking about that.

Pikatwig: Yes please.

KKD: Well I made it clear my favorite part was the duel, but what was yours?

Pikatwig: ...I liked both the duel and the interactions between Alexis and Blair early on and then the groups of characters that are from different timelines/realities.

KKD: Ok, I'll give you that, that was good.

Pikatwig: And before we get asked about this, there's a reason that the main female character of Zexal isn't here.

KKD: Wait, she's not?

Pikatwig: Nope.

KKD: Why not?

Pikatwig: A very simple reason. ...not that interesting a character and, well, kind of a lowball for the standards of this series. People have had their complaints about Téa, Alexis, Akiza, Yuzu, Serena, and all of the other females out there to some extent… but oh boy does the main female of Zexal kind of show downgrade from 5D. Now, again, I haven't watched these seasons so I'm only going off of what others have said… and most people say that Zexal isn't that great and one of the more big problem characters is the female lead.

KKD: Is it because of her character design?

Pikatwig: Nope. Most people agree she is kind of cute.

KKD: Is it because she's a brat or something? That's a common complaint about a lot of female characters in shounen anime at times.

Pikatwig: Not sure. Here's a hint… it was a complaint that people had about Téa early on.

KKD: ...is it because she doesn't duel?

Pikatwig: Bingo.

KKD: Well, it can't be that bad, right? I mean I know Téa doesn't duel on the regular, but she did eventually duel, using a fairy-monster based deck in episodes 2 and 25 in the Duelist Kingdom arcs before eventually getting a more major dueling role in episodes 102 and 103, and she won all those times.

Pikatwig: It took Zexal's female lead until episode 60 to finally duel once!

KKD: ...seriously? Never dueled until that point? Well, as long as she was a genius at-

Pikatwig: And she never once won a duel she partook in.

KKD: YOU'RE KIDDING ME! *gets shown article on the Yu-Gi-Oh wiki and groans* No wonder she's not here.

Pikatwig: She's pretty much nothing but a cheerleader for Yuma. And, heck, she once literally dressed like a cheerleader. Granted it was a card effect that did that, somehow, but still.

KKD: You were being very progressive getting the females of the show into very awesome roles and amazing decks, and yet you made this girl the weakest link? That's just pathetic. *sighs*

Pikatwig: Yuzu and Aoi, the female lead of Vrains, have both amended this issue and are largely loved by the fanbase.

Off-Screen Guy: I would like to remind you that your first anime crush once wore a cheerleader outfit.

Pikatwig: Shut up you! Dawn actually did stuff and battled early on!

Off-Screen Guy: I'm just saying.

*Pikatwig grabbed a button and pressed it*

Off-Screen Guy: What does that thing doOOOOOO?! *gets flung out of the building and 'pinged' away like Team Rocket*

KKD: …Nice one.

Pikatwig: Thank you. *sets thing aside* And even more problematic thing about the female Zexal lead? In the manga? ...she never even dueled once. Ever. In the entire run of the manga.

KKD: Are you serious?

Pikatwig: Pretty much.

KKD: …*sighs* Well then, thank goodness for picking Rio, a girl who actually CAN duel, to represent Zexal.

Pikatwig: It did take her a while for her first duel, but that was because she ended up in the hospital for an extended period of time prior to the start of the season. Rio actually won several duels she was in.

KKD: Oh, ok.

Pikatwig: Still better.

KKD: Moving on before we get angry fans…

Pikatwig: Good point.

KKD: Uh… let's see… what's this about their future memories leaking in?

Pikatwig: Has to do with how time and space are falling apart. Will get elaborated more net time.

KKD: Which is Zexal lead vs. Arc-V lead?

Pikatwg: Yep.

KKD: And you said he's dumber than Digimon protagonists?

Pikatwig: Big time.

KKD: Yeesh.

Pikatwig: Who do you think is the dumbest out of Tai, Davis, Takato, Takuya, and Marcus? I won't ask about the Xros Wars leads because you haven't seen it.

KKD: Fair. Uh… hmm… I would have to say… Marcus. He's crazy enough to try and punch Digimon, who are clearly stronger. And just because it's the best way to help him get his partner to Digivolve doesn't mean he should do it every time! Plus, I wouldn't exactly call him leader material, either.

Pikatwig: I will say that is the only way he's capable of Digivolving Agumon, but besides the point. Yuma is basically dumbest lead of Digimon… times about 20 or 30 levels of dumb.

KKD: Oh boy.

Pikatwig: People say he's better in the manga than the anime from what I've read. And before anybody says anything, no, we don't hate Zexal. I haven't watched it and I don't know if KKD has either. I'm going off of second hand-info from what I have seen people say… and one of my friends told me don't watch it because of how dumb the lead is.

KKD: I've only seen maybe the first episode, and first impressions were not that great. Plus, based on clips I saw, he's about as dumb as Marcus like you said… still smarter than… uh… oh, Stretchy Pirate, though.

Pikatwig: Wow… you're right about One Piece being your version of my disinterest in Dragon Orb.

KKD: Yea. Still haven't thought of a good parody name for that like you have.

Pikatwig: Well, we've rambled enough. Next time is the duel of Yuma and Yuya. ...and maybe we might do a review of a Yu-Gi-Oh episode later this month or early next month. We'll see.

KKD: Yea… I guess that's it for now. Stay tuned for more.

Pikatwig: Wrap up time.

KKD: Jaa ne.

Pikatwig: Just Live More.


	3. Chapter 3

Pikatwig: So… this chapter will be containing a duel between Yuma and Yuya.

KKD: They're nearly the same name. Just one letter difference.

Pikatwig: Yeah… and they pretty much exhausted out all of the two syllable sounding 'Yu' names with Yuya's alternate dimension selves, so… probably goes on to explain Yusaku's name. Wonder if they'll ever use Yusuke.

KKD: Who knows. We'll have to see. If anything, I think they need to start using female protagonists as the focus.

Pikatwig: I think so too. And… funny you bring that up, given a joke that be in the chapter. Anyway... today's battle is between the guy that even the staff says lacks skills vs. the character who's move that had never been seen before in his world actually gets him called a cheater.

KKD: Really?

Pikatwig: Yep. After Yuya failed to get the Pendulum Summon to work the second time he tried it and lost a duel, people starting calling him a cheater.

KKD: Sheesh!

Pikatwig: Yeah.

KKD: So… how'd he fail to get it to work the second time when he got it to work the first time?

Pikatwig: He didn't remember doing it the first time.

KKD: Why not?

Pikatwig: Reasons.

KKD: Can you say the reasons?

Pikatwig: Partly spoilers and partly complicated stuff.

KKD: Shoot. Oh well.

Pikatwig: Anyway… let's go ahead and get started. You kept me waiting long enough to work on this. *gets looks* Behind the scenes stuff we won't be getting into.

KKD: Right, of course.

Disclaimers: Neither author owns the rights to anything in this story apart from original content. Yu-Gi-Oh!, Yu-Gi-Oh! GX, Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's, Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal, Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V, and Yu-Gi-Oh! Vrains are owned by Konami and their respective owners.

* * *

Jaden got into an observer area as he watched Yuma and Yuya enter the arena, "This should be interesting. Two kids from another version of history…"

" _ **It is interesting to say the least,"**_ Yubel admitted.

"So… where do you think Yusei is? I haven't seen him since I beat him earlier…"

" _ **I'm not entirely sure. Maybe he got sent back…"**_

"It's gonna be nice to battle another Xyz summoner," Yuya smiled as he had finished shuffling Yuma's deck.

"Don't think I'm going to go easy on you just because you're a girl," Yuma retorted.

"Uh… I'm a guy."

"Sure you are…"

"Yes I am!" Yuya yelled.

" _Keep it cool, Yuya…"_ a voice told him.

Yuma and Yuya handed each-other their decks back and then walked to their respective sides of the field.

"You ready?" Yuya inquired.

"Whenever you are, Miss," Yuma smiled.

"I already told you that I'm a guy!"

"Yeesh… sensitive much?" Yuma commented, "Well. doesn't matter. Let's reach out to the sky!"

Yuya took a moment to shake his head before he turned towards the crowd, "Ladies and gentlemen… it's showtime!"

(Yuma: 4000; Yuya: 4000)

"I'll start this duel off by summoning Cardcar D in Attack Mode!" Yuma announced, summoning what appeared to be a car as flat as a card that was blue with a design on the hood resembling a yellow dragon with a red D.

(Cardcar D; Lvl 2; ATK: 800; DEF: 400)

"And I'll activate its effect! I tribute it to draw two cards, but I can't Special Summon this turn!" Yuma declared as the car vanished, "I set one card face down. Your move."

"Okay then. First, I'll summon Performapal Skullcrobat Joker to my field!" Yuya announced as a jester appeared in a black and purple suit with a skull-themed top hat.

(Performapal Skullcrobat Joker; Lvl 4; ATK: 1800; DEF: 100)

"Now, I'll use its effect to add a Performapal, Magician, or Odd-Eyes Monster from my Deck to my hand!" Yuya explained before taking a card and placing it in his hands, "And now, it's time to set the Pendulum Scales in place!"

"If I knew what you were talking about, miss, I'd say something more than what I'm saying right now."

"Are you trying to make me angry?" Yuya questioned before he quickly shrugged it off and readied two cards.

(Insert Song: Arc-V OST 09 Swing! Pendulum of Souls)

"I set the Pendulum Scale with the Scale 1 Stargazer Magician and the Scale 8 Timegazer Magician!" Yuya declared as he loaded cards of two spellcasters, one appeared white with a purple cape and blonde hair while the other wore black and gold with red hair, taking to both sides of the stage as numbers appeared beneath them, and a pendulum started to swing between them, "Now, I can summon any monster with Levels 1 through 8!"

"What kind of summoning gimmick is THIS?!" Jaden gasped.

"Swing, pendulum of the soul!" Yuya shouted as the jewel-like pendulum swung between his two monsters, "Draw an arc of light across the ether! I now Pendulum Summon! Appear now, my monsters!"

The pendulum swing at a rapid pace to create a sort of portal in the sky between the two monsters and, through the portal, came three lights.

The first was a humanoid monster in purple and white armor with hair made of a blue-fire like substance, a staff in hand with a green tip of sorts.

(Performapal Odd-Eyes Dissolver; Lvl 8; ATK: 2000; DEF: 2600)

Second was a female monster with hooves, a dark blue outfit with white highlights, yellow shoulder pads, a unicorn horn, and sky blue hair and matching tail.

(Performapal Corn; Lvl 3; ATK: 600; DEF: 1000)

And thirdly was a red dragon with white horns and attachments decorated with orbs of varying colors, a yellow beak, and a blue chest. The dragon let out a fierce roar as Yuya simply had a calm smile.

(Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon; Lvl 7; ATK: 2500; DEF: 2000)

"How did you do that?! You managed to summon monsters higher than level 4 without a single tribute! That's against the rules in my time!" Yuma yelled.

"I said that by putting my magicians in the Pendulum Zones, I could summon ANY monster with levels between 1 and 8. I get that I was the guy who invented this, but I try to make the explanation simple!" Yuya responded.

"He INVENTED this type of card and summoning?!" Jaden gawked in the observing area.

" _ **How interesting…"**_ Yubel commented.

(End Insert Song)

"Now then, I'm going to wipe you out in just one turn! With my four monsters, I can beat you with direct attacks! It's over, Yuma! It looks like this round of the tournament won't be lasting as long as the pharaoh hoped! Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon, attack Yuma directly!"

"Not gonna happen! I activate the effect of my Gagaga Gardna in my hand! When my foe does a Direct Attack, I can special summon this in Attack Position!" Yuma declared as a cloaked figure in dark purple wearing a silver helmet while wielding a massive magenta, dark purple, and yellow shield appeared.

(Gagaga Gardna; Lvl 4; ATK: 1500; DEF: 2000)

"Your Gagaga Gardna only has 1500 attack points. It's weaker than my Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon, so now I'll attack your monster with my Dragon! Your Gagaga Gardna is a… gagaga goner!" Yuya joked.

"I activate Gagaga Gardna's special effect. By discarding a card, I can cancel your dragon's attack, and I discard Gagaga Girl," Yuma shouted, the shield user standing his ground as the dragon's attack was blocked.

"You may have had your monster survive the round, but you still lose life points because your monster was in attack position," Yuya commented, "And I still got two monsters that can attack and beat your monster!"

(Yuma: 4000-3000)

"Performapal Odd-Eyes Dissolver, attack Gagaga Gardna!"

"Nope! I play Negate Attack!" Yuma countered, the attack simply being reflected off of the card, "Your attack is negated and your phase ends!"

Yuya sighed as he leaned back a bit.

"I draw!" Yuma smiled as he took out a card, "Alright. Now, I summon Gogogo Golem in Attack Mode!"

A rock being with what appeared to be a tower for a torso emerged.

(Gogogo Golem; Lvl: 4; ATK: 1800; DEF: 1500)

"...Performapal, Gagaga, Gogogo? What kind of names are those…?" Jaden muttered.

" _ **Says the guy who came up with Neo Spacians."**_

"Now, it's time to Xyz summon my ace!" Yuma declared.

"...what summon?" Jaden blinked.

"I build the Overlay network with my two Level 4 monsters! I Xyz Summon my buddy, my pal, my partner, the ultimate… Number 39: Utopia!" Yuma proudly shouted.

From that, two cards layered on top of each other, 4 golden stars turning black as a knight-like figure emerged with gray and golden armor, wings, a sword, and the red number 39 on his shoulder.

(Number 39: Utopia; Rank: 4; ATK: 2500; DEF: 2000)

"Now, I'll attack your Dragon and slay it!" Yuma announced.

"But… our monsters have the same attack points! They'll both go down!"

Yuma had a content look on his face as both monsters collided, and a bright light seemed to flash, but a roar was heard and Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon was gone.

"Wait, what? My Pendulum Dragon's gone?! And Utopia's still out on the field?!" Yuya gawked

"Utopia is a Number Monster. And like all Number Monsters, Utopia cannot be destroyed in battle, EXCEPT by other Number Monsters!" Yuma declared with a scoff.

"But I don't have any of these 'Number Monster'!" Yuya responded, giving a wave of his hands as he said 'Number Monsters'.

"Then it doesn't look good for you, girly."

"I AM NOT A GIRL! GET IT THROUGH YOUR HEAD ALREADY!"

"I set one card face down. Your turn, miss."

"CALL ME A GIRL ONE MORE TIME AND I'LL BITE YOUR HEAD OFF!" Yuya snapped, his eyes glowing red and his hair starting to float.

" _Yuya, cool it…"_

Yuya was about to respond, but then gasped as a vision flashed in front of his eyes. He began to calm down a bit, yet seemed scared of something.

" _Yuya?"_

"I… I… I…" he stammered nervously as he backed up a bit, "I…"

"Are you alright down there?!" Jaden called out from his spot.

Yuya shook his head for a moment to try to regain his focus a bit, "...I… I'll use the already set in place Pendulum Scales to… Pendulum Summon! Revive from the Extra Deck, Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon!"

"Wait, what?! What are you doing?!"

The portal between the two magicians reappeared and out of it emerged Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon.

(Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon; Lvl 7; ATK: 2500; DEF: 2000)

' _Yuto… I… I'm seeing a lot of stuff right now. I… can't focus…'_ Yuya thought.

" _Don't worry… I got this."_

Yuya's eyes turned silver and he looked at the current field, "I now summon Performapal Coin Dragon to my field!"

Then came a green Chinese dragon with a coin on its forehead, a blue vest and a pink bowtie.

(Performapal Coin Dragon: Lvl 4; ATK: 1700; DEF: 1000)

"And now, I'll fight fire with fire! I Overlay Performapal Coin Dragon and Performapal Skullcrobat Joker!" Yuya announced as he caused the two monsters to enter a portal, "Formed from pitch-black darkness, to fight those foolish enough to oppose its treacherous fangs! Now, descend! I Xyz Summon Rank 4, Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon!"

This summoned up a large black and silver dragon with purple and magenta parts all over

(Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon; Rank: 4; ATK: 2500; DEF: 2000)

"Still not a Number Monster, dumb girl."

"...wow, you're annoying…" Yuya sighed.

"I get that a lot!" Yuma said with a smile.

"But now, I set one card face down and end my turn," Yuya declared, "Your move."

* * *

"So, basically, an Xyz Summon is done when you put two monsters of the same level together underneath the card you want to summon via use of the Overlay Network," Rio explained as she had some cards on a table, "It's rumored the Xyz Monsters originally came to our world from the other side of a black hole and that energy transformed into the Overlay Network."

"Really?" Akiza blinked.

"Just a rumor, but still."

"As for Synchro Summoning, It basically requires a bit of math, but you take a Tuner Monster and tune it with several other monsters to meet the level of the Synchro you wish to summon," Luna explained.

"Heh… I know one of my friends wouldn't ever want to use it because it involves math."

"So… why is it the cards have a different color for their level numbers?" Carly asked.

"Xyz Monsters don't, ordinarily, have levels. They have Ranks."

"What's the difference?"

"Hard to explain…"

"So, are they all Level 0?"

"...What?"

* * *

"I'll set one card face down and then end my turn," Yuya declared as he put a card down.

"My turn. First, I'm gonna play Graceful Charity! With this, I get to draw three cards as long as I discard two," Yuma announced, "And I end my turn."

"You didn't attack this turn with a monster I can't destroy? Wow… you're stupid. Well, my turn. I draw," Yuya announced.

"Does something about Yuya seem… off to you?" Jaden asked.

" _ **Almost like his personality changed…"**_ Yubel commented.

Yuya looked at the card he drew for a moment before he gasped at it, "No way… this is... "

" _Yuri's dragon?"_

The card that Yuya had drawn was that of a purple and gold dragon with red gems all over, yellow orbs and horns, as well as what looked to be green ooze

"How did you…?"

Yuya's eyes returned to their normal color and he quickly readied a card, "I now play Pot of Greed to draw two more cards!"

"It happened again," Jaden muttered.

"I now use the effect of Performapal Odd-Eyes Dissolver, which allows me to perform a fusion summon with a card in my Pendulum Zone!" Yuya declared as Timegazer Magician left its spot and flew forward towards Odd-Eyes Dissolver, "Those dichromatic eyes that illuminate the dark night! Become the guide of time and point to a new path!"

"What's he trying now…?" Jaden wondered.

"I Fusion Summon!" Yuya declared with his arms outstretched as his monsters appeared together and got sucked into a tunnel before Yuya slammed his hands together, "Appear to my side, Starve Venom Fusion Dragon!"

The dragon from the card emerged and roared loudly.

(Starve Venom Fusion Dragon; Lvl: 8; ATK: 2800; DEF: 2000)

"And I now play a Spell Card, Card Thief!" Yuya declared, "Now, I'll declare a type of monster that you'll need to hand over to me for the remainder of the duel at the cost of 100 Life Points. So hand one over one Number Monster!"

(Yuya: 4000-3900)

Yuma gave a sigh as he took a Number Monster card out of his Extra Deck and tossed it towards Yuya.

"And now, I end my turn."

"Well then, it's my move, girly," Yuma smirked.

"Will you stop that?!" Yuya yelled.

" _ **Now I'm starting to wonder if he's intentionally doing that to annoy Yuya or is just genuinely not aware Yuya is a guy…"**_ Yubel commented.

"Who knows," Jaden shrugged.

"I'll activate a spell card. Monster Reborn!" Yuma announced, "This'll let me bring back one of the cards I sent to the Graveyard with Graceful Charity and I summon Flelf!"

He summoned up a blonde elven figure with a blue cloak, wearing armor underneath and wielding a sword.

(Flelf; Lvl: 2; ATK: 800; DEF: 1300)

"Next, I activate Flelf's ability. I discard my Level 3 Achacha Archer to increase Flelf's Level by 3!" Yuma announced.

(Flelf; Lvl: 2-5)

"And now I summon Gagaga Magician from my hand!"

He summoned up a spellcaster similar in appearance to the iconic Dark Magician, but his armor was black with a turned down hat, crimson armor around along with chains that went around most of its body.

(Gagaga Magician; Lvl: 4; ATK: 1500; DEF: 1000)

"And I activate its effect to change its level from 4 to 5! Now, it's time for another Xyz Summon!" Yuma smirked.

(Gagaga Magician; Lvl: 4-5)

"I Overlay Flelf and Gagaga Magician to Xyz summon Number 61: Volcasaurus!"

The two monsters he used were soon sucked into a vortex before from it emerged a large bipedal dinosaur with purple scales, red armor and yellow spikes, and what looked to be a yellow tail

(Number 61: Volcasaurus; Rank: 5; ATK: 2500; DEF: 1000)

"Now, I'll use Volcasaurus' special ability! I detach one Xyz Material from the card to destroy your Starve Venom Fusion Dragon and inflict damage to your life points equal to the attack points of that monster!" Yuma declared as the dinosaur roared at Starve Venom Fusion Dragon before the monster shattered.

(Yuya: 3900-1100)

"Tch! Lucky shot!" Yuya responded.

"Now, Utopia, attack his Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon and destroy it with the Rising Sun Slash!"

Utopia raised its blade high into the air and as the blade glowed it slashed down and caused Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon to vanish.

"And, now, I send one card to my Graveyard and end my turn. So how's it feel to get beat by somebody smart like me? Then again, you'd know about getting whooped since you're just a girl who can't even play by the rules."

"...it's not even worth the energy to yell at him anymore…" Yuya groaned.

" _I'm glad I've never encountered anybody this dumb back in my dimension…"_ the voice in Yuya's head sighed.

"Yea… hopefully Yuzu hasn't met anybody this dumb…"

* * *

"You're safe…" Serena gawked as Yuzu walked over to her.

"Hi Serena. It's been a while," Yuzu smiled.

"So… are you two sure you're not sisters? You just happen to look an awful lot like twins…" Alexis commented.

"We're not," they said in unison.

"So… who is this?" Yuzu asked.

"I'm Alexis. Alexis Rhodes, Duel Queen of Duel Academy and a Hypno Duelist," Alexis informed.

Yuzu gave a nod of her head before she paled a little, "Duel Academy…?"

"Not the same one I'm from," Serena said assuringly, letting Yuzu sigh a bit in relief, "Very much a good thing. Otherwise… we'd be in a lot of trouble right now.."

"Yeah…" Yuzu nodded, "So… where's Yuya?"

"He went to go deal with something. Hopefully we can reunite soon," Serena informed.

"Yea…"

Serena and Alexis were about to say something to Yuzu, but Yuzu slowly backed away a bit from them.

"Yuzu?" Serena asked.

Yuzu tilted her head down for a moment, her hair covering her eyes in shadows, and then she began to growl.

"Oh no…" Serena whispered as she slowly backed away.

"What?" Alexis questioned.

"So… remember how I said some stuff to you earlier about me not being in control of my actions and seemingly betraying my friends in the future? Well… I'm guessing Yuzu's starting to remember that… but minus the fact I wasn't in control of my actions during that point…" Serena explained.

Yuzu then, without saying a word, got out a paper fan and pretty much told Serena that she was right. Serena quickly started to run as fast as she could.

"GET BACK HERE YOU TRAITOR!" Yuzu yelled as she chased after Serena.

"Wait! Stop!" Alexis yelled, "Get back here you two!"

Neither of them listened to her, so Alexis started to chase after them.

* * *

"I draw!" Yuya declared as he drew his next card and gave a smile, "Looks like I got a back-up plan in case this plan doesn't work. Okay. First, I'll set Xiangsheng Magician in my open Pendulum Zone!"

A pinkette archer with magician's clothing and a mask to cover much of her face appeared to the right of Stargazer Magician.

"Now, I can Pendulum Summon once more!" Yuya smirked, "Swing, pendulum of the soul! Draw an arc of light across the ether! I now Pendulum Summon! Appear now, my monsters!"

From the sky appeared two monsters. The first was a rather handsome gentleman that resembled a stage magician with a beaming smile.

(Performapal Smile Sorcerer; Lvl 8; ATK: 2500; DEF: 2000)

The other was a blonde girl with a white, purple, and green uniform and with a kind of unicorn motif.

(Performapal Uni; Lvl 4; ATK: 800; DEF: 1500)

"I now play a Spell Card, Multi-Monster! With this, I can pay 100 Life Points to create a duplicate of one monster on my field and I choose Performapal Uni!"

(Yuya: 1100-1000)

Uni seemed to split in two, the two monsters smiling as they waved to the crowd.

"And now I construct the Overlay Network with the two Unis I have!" Yuya declared as the girls high fived and dove into the dark vortex that spawned below them, "Hey, kid, question. What killed the dinosaurs?"

"...what?" Yuma blinked.

"The ice age! I Xyz Summon Number 103: Ragnazero!"

From the vortex emerged a woman with a dark mask and headdress wearing a white dress with gold and crimson accents, ice like blades emerging from her back as the number 103 appeared on one of these blades that resembled a wing.

(Number 103: Ragnazero; Rank 4; ATK: 2400; DEF: 1200)

"And I know play a Trap Card, Xyz Charge! By giving up one monster for the remainder of the duel, I can boost one Xyz Monster's Attack points by 1000! I banish Smile Sorcerer to activate the effect of Xyz Charge!"

Smile Sorcerer then turned into a bright light before merging with Ragnazero.

(Number 103: Ragnazero; ATK: 2400-3400)

"Ragnazero, attack Volcasaurus!" Yuya declared.

The frozen girl then summoned up several ice blades before launching then at the dinosaur, freezing it and then slashing right through the dinosaur.

(Yuma: 3000-2100)

"I end my turn."

"I draw!" Yuma announced as he pulled out a card, "Well, could've used this a minute ago. Ah well. I activate my Spell Card, Memories of Hope! This allows me to draw cards equal to the number of Number Xyz Monsters on my side of the field."

He pulled out another card and smirked, "Alright then. I activate… Pot of Desires! By banishing the top 10 cards of my deck, facedown, I get to draw two cards."

Yuma smiled as he looked at the cards, but then paled a little.

"Seems like your plan didn't work out, did it?" Yuya questioned.

"...I'll have Utopia attack Ragnazero!"

Yuya gave a confused look, "Well… because I like to see fun duels and not have things blow up if it's just for fun, I'm going to save you from that fatal move. I activate my Trap Card, Performing Call! As long as one Performapal is on the field, I can activate this trap card to negate an attack from my opponent."

"Just what I was hoping for. I activate this Quick-Play Spell Card… Double or Nothing!" Yuma announced, "Since you negated my attack, I get to attack with Utopia once more! And, with the card, his attack points get doubled!"

(Number 39: Utopia: 2500-5000)

"Go, Utopia! Finish him off!"

"I'm not going down that easily! I'll summon Performapal Kuriborder!"

Yuya called out a Kuriboh-like monster dressed for Christmas as Utopia charged.

(Performapal Kuriborder; Lvl 1; ATK: 300; DEF: 200)

"When my foe declares an attack at me or one of my monsters, I can special summon this monster and turn all of that damage into life point!" Yuya declared as Utopia smacked Kuriborder.

(Yuya: 1000-5700)

"I hate your stupid performing monster, girly. You're nothing but a showoff!"

Yuya simply rolled his eyes as he quickly shrugged.

"I end my turn…" Yuma growled.

"I draw!" Yuya announced, then gaining a smile as he saw the card in his hand. He quickly put it in his hand and then looked to the field, "I activate a trap card. Overlay Destruction!"

"What the…?"

"Now, with this Trap Card, all Xyz Monsters are broken apart to their material and banished from the duel. While this costs me my Number Monster, your Utopia is out of my way!" Yuya announced.

Suddenly, both Ragnazero and Utopia ended up breaking apart and the monsters that made them up ended up banished.

"And now, I play my Spell Card, Odd-Eyes Fusion Gate!" Yuya declared, causing Jaden to look on with an interested look, "Now with this card, I can special summon a Fusion Monster from my graveyard. I bring back Starve Venom Fusion Dragon and fuse it with my Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon!"

The two dragons roared as they soared into the air once more, roaring loudly as they soared into the air.

"Dragon with dual colored eyes! Become one with the poisonous dragon! Be the power that leads to supremacy! I Fusion Summon!" Yuya declared as he did the same motion he did earlier, "Appear to my side, my Level 10 Odd-Eyes Venom Dragon!"

The two dragons got sucked into another vortex before they came out as one large purple dragon with white armor, and red and green orbs surrounding it.

(Odd-Eyes Venom Dragon; Lvl 10; ATK 3300; DEF: 2500)

"Sugoi…" Jaden gawked, "It looks awesome…"

"And now, since I remember you sent a card to the Graveyard earlier, I won't attack with Venom dragon. Kuriborder, attack Yuma directly!"

"No you don't! I counter with the Rainbow Kuriboh I sent to the Graveyard earlier!" Yuma yelled as a rainbow colored Kuriboh with smooth skin instead of fur and appeared, "Since you declared such an attack, I can special summon this guy from the graveyard!"

(Rainbow Kuriboh; Lvl 1; ATK: 100; DEF: 100)

"Had a feeling you had a Kuriboh-type. Well then, Performapal Corn, attack Rainbow Kuriboh!" Yuya shouted.

Rainbow Kuriboh then tried to defend as the female monster dashed over and kicked it into the sky, causing the creature to disappear.

(Yuma: 2100-1600)

"I'm still in this duel!" Yuma declared.

"No, you're not. You forgot I have one dragon ready to finish you off," Yuya reminded as he pointed to Odd-Eyes Venom Dragon, "Odd-Eyes Venom Dragon… FINISH YUMA OFF!"

Odd-Eyes Venom Dragon let out a mighty roar before it blasted a massive attack at Yuma.

(Yuma: 1600-0)

"And I win," Yuya smiled as he turned towards the crowd, "Ladies and gentlemen, thank you! Goodnight!"

Jaden began to cheer in response as Yuya gave a bow.

"I'll beat you next time, you stupid girl!" Yuma yelled as he hurried out of the arena.

"I! AM! NOT! A! GIRL!" Yuya angrily yelled.

* * *

"Still… this whole Xyz thing doesn't make much sense. I can't believe that the monsters you get after the process lack levels."

"Well, your Synchro thing is confusing too. I mean, the idea of adding up levels and needing a 'tuner' make sense on paper, but the execution is tricky seeing you hardly have the numbers you need…"

Luna and Carly just looked at the two as they conversed, but then the power suddenly went out.

"Oh…" Akiza sighed.

"...okay…" Rio nervously commented as she placed her hand over her Duel Disk.

"You alright?" Akiza asked.

Rio simply nodded her head nervously, Akiza smiling as she embraced her and kept the younger girl calm.

"...I ended up at a dark place once after I lost a duel, so… little nervous of it happening again…" Rio nervously admitted.

"Don't worry. I'll be sure to keep you safe…" Akiza told her in a calm and motherly tone.

* * *

"Crud…" Serena gulped as she ended up at a dead-end.

"I got you now, traitor," Yuzu angrily said as she had her paper fan at the ready, ready to strike as Alexis managed to catch up to the two, "You're going to pay for what you've done…"

She was about to strike at Serena, but Alexis' hand grabbed it.

"Hey, let my fan go!" Yuzu yelled.

"Alexis…" Serena whispered.

"Will you two knock it off?! Serena didn't do anything willingly!" Alexis told Yuzu.

"She betrayed me and my friends to our enemy. Or… will betray us. It's rather confusing, but I do know she betrays us a-"

"Not willingly. She was controlled by someone and wouldn't have done it to you willingly. Now will you just knock it off?!"

Yuzu was about to speak again, but her eyes gained a kind of foggy look for a moment. She eventually looked to Serena, her eyes turning back to normal, and began to nervously laugh, "...right. I remember now. Th-This is a bit awkward. I… uh…"

Alexis looked to them both with a somewhat irritated look, "Both of you. Follow me. Now."

"Yes ma'am," they quickly responded.

"...kids these days…" Alexis sighed as she guided them forward.

* * *

Meanwhile, back several years in the past, we see what appeared to be the Pharaoh in a Japanese high school uniform playing a round of Duel Monsters against an AI opponent.

"I play Multi-Monster to duplicate my Dark Magician. Now, I'll play Dedication Through Light and Darkness on the first one and Knight's Title on the second one," he called out in a much more youthful voice before he played the cards, "Come forth, Dark Magician of Chaos and Dark Magician Knight! Now, I will call a direct attack and finish you off."

The AI couldn't defend itself before it's monsters were destroyed and its Life Points hit zero.

"Hi Yugi," a woman's voice called out.

"Oh, hey Téa. Good to see you," the young man, Yugi, smiled.

The woman, Téa, walked over and gave Yugi a kiss on the cheek.

"How was rehearsal?"

"It went well. The play will finally be ready for its premiere tomorrow," Téa smiled as she took off a jacket, "Though, if I can say something, little worried I'm starting to get type-casted."

"What do you mean?"

"This is I think the fourth or fifth play where I've been put in a role where I get hypnotized. It's not that it's bad, but it can get tiresome."

"I can at least guess why that is."

"Do tell," Téa requested.

"You look really pretty while in a trance… and you were a big fan of that one hypnotist when we were younger. Oh… what was her name, what was her name…?"

"Aileen Rao?"

"Yeah, her. You were a big fan of hers when we were younger and even wanted to see her every time she visited town."

"...touché," Téa shrugged, "Either way, I guess I just hope I won't get type-casted as somebody who gets hypnotized all the time."

"Fair enough."

Tea sat down and took off her footwear as she began to relax a bit, "So, Yugi, how has the AI research been going?"

"Pretty well. The program appears to be functioning on an optimal level, and has gotten pretty used to dueling. Company wants me to make sure they're hack-proof as a safety protocol next. It's going to take some time, but I think I can do it."

"Alright. Hope it goes well," Téa smiled.

"But I will be taking tomorrow off so I can go to the play you're in. I promise," Yugi informed.

"Thanks, Yugi. You're so sweet," Téa smiled as she pulled him into a hug, "I'll be looking forward to having you see it."

"Well, it's getting late. I need to take off, myself. See you later tonight," Yugi told Téa.

"Alright. Later, Yugi."

As the two left the computer, though, a small light shined by the deck of cards and a new card appeared at the top of the stack…

* * *

Pikatwig: And we finally get to see the original protagonist and the girl who got hypnotized quite a lot.

KKD: Yea, no joke. Still, this was a fun chapter to write, too.

Pikatwig: Took forever for us to actually finish it because reasons, but that's neither here nor there.

KKD: Yea… sorry about that, folks.

Pikatwig: Going back to the topic of Téa getting hypnotized… that's such an important piece to the character that it was in at least three video games and happened, at minimum, 16 times. 15 by that guy with one of the Millennium Items, and once by the hypnotist that Yugi and Téa mentioned in their conversation.

KKD: Yeah, it was in Season 0. The season before the card game was fully the focus of the show.

Pikatwig: I only happened upon that info while skimming the Yu-Gi-Oh wiki for research purposes.

KKD: Interesting tidbits as always.

Pikatwig: As for people wondering what their relationship is right now… boyfriend and girlfriend. Not married.

KKD: Sorry folks. Give it more time.

Pikatwig: So… overall thoughts on the featured duel?

KKD: It was tricky to follow at first, but it was cool regardless.

Pikatwig: What made it tricky for you to follow?

KKD: Not sure.

Pikatwig: Alright. Favorite part?

KKD: Hmm… not sure, admittedly.

Pikatwig: While I did like the duel… I honestly thought the scene with Yugi and Téa was sweet. I may not know much about this series, but I did think the moment between them was nice.

KKD: That was a cute scene, I'll admit. Well, stay tuned in for more, folks. Jaa ne.

Pikatwig: Just Live More.


	4. Chapter 4

Pikatwig: The penultimate chapter of this story. It's the pioneer of the Pendulum Summon versus the bearer of the Elemental Heroes.

KKD: This could be pretty intense to be sure.

Pikatwig: Also… one of our first collabs that is going up this year. Not the first, but one of the firsts overall on this site.

KKD: Yep. At least it's the first chapter of it at this point.

Pikatwig: Not much else to say, so let's get this started.

KKD: Yeah.

Disclaimers: Neither author owns the rights to anything in this story apart from original content. Yu-Gi-Oh!, Yu-Gi-Oh! GX, Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's, Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal, Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V, and Yu-Gi-Oh! Vrains are owned by Konami and their respective owners.

* * *

Jaden and Yuya both stood at the arena and exchanged nods at each-other. They quickly exchanged decks to shuffle them, giving each other a nod to confirm that they were ready to start. Jaden took a moment to look over Yuya's deck with his ability to sense it had high magical power. With Yuya unable to notice the flash of Jaden's eyes, he continued to shuffle Jaden's deck.

" _ **This deck… it feels unlike anything I've ever seen before…"**_ Yubel commented.

Jaden gave a nod as he started to shuffle Yuya's deck as Yuya finished shuffling Jaden's. The two exchanged their decks and got onto opposite sides of the field.

" _ **Now that I finally get a chance to look at him without distractions… I sense something dark about him. I don't know what it is, but I feel he has something dark buried within him…"**_

"You ready?" Jaden asked.

"You bet," Yuya nodded.

"Get your game on!"

"Ladies and gentlemen… it's showtime!"

(Jaden: 4000; Yuya: 4000)

* * *

Meanwhile, at Yugi's point of time, he was in the middle of getting ready to head out of the apartment, but then noticed a different card at the top of his stack.

"Hmm?" he muttered as he picked up the card, which was a Trap Card called 'Link of Time', and just stared at it with a confused look.

"Hey, Yugi," Tea said as she walked over to him, "Weather's looking pretty bad, so the director of the play said to stay home until it clears up."

"Sorry to hear that."

"It's ok. I'll still be able to perform once we have certainty that the weather will clear up," Tea said with a smile, hugging Yugi as she relaxed a little, "Until then, you and I get to spend some time together. Bet that's more fun than needing to work, huh?"

"Yeah…" Yugi smiled as he let her hug him. He then hugged back and the two simply relaxed together on the couch.

* * *

"I'll start this duel by summoning Neo-Spacian Flare Scarab in ATK mode!" Jaden called out, summoning the black humanoid beetle.

(Neo-Spacian Flare Scarab; Lvl 3; ATK: 500; DEF: 500)

"I'll set two cards face down. Turn end."

"It's my move. I draw!" Yuya announced, "First, I'm going to set up my Pendulum Scales."

"Alright…"

"I'll set the Pendulum Scale with the Scale 3 Xiangke Magician and the Scale 8 Xiangsheng Magician!" Yuya declared as he placed the two cards in his Pendulum Zones, "Now, I can summon any monster with Levels 3 through 8!"

"Here we go…" Jaden muttered.

"Yurero, tamashii no pendulum! Tenkuu ni egake hikari no arc! (Swing, pendulum of the soul! Draw an arc of light across the ether!)" Yuya declared, "I now Pendulum Summon my monsters!"

Four lights came out of the portal that appeared above Yuya.

"Appear to my side, Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon! Performapal Coin Dragon! Performapal Skeeter Skimmer! And, finally, Stargazer Magician!"

Alongside the two dragons and the magician appeared some kind of bug in a top hat with a boat for a body.

(Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon; Lvl 7; ATK: 2500; DEF: 2000)

(Performapal Coin Dragon; Lvl 4; ATK: 1700; DEF: 1000)

(Performapal Skeeter Skimmer; Lvl 4; ATK: 500; DEF: 1600)

(Stargazer Magician; Lvl 5; ATK 1200; DEF: 2400)

"Next, I'll normal Summon my Timegazer Magician!" Yuya announced, summoning up the magician.

(Timegazer Magician; Lvl 3; ATK: 1200; DEF: 600)

"Now, I overlay Performapal Coin Dragon and Performapal Skeeter Skimmer!" Yuya declared as the two monstered entered a portal, "Formed from pitch-black darkness, to fight those foolish enough to oppose its treacherous fangs! Now, descend! I Xyz Summon Rank 4, Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon!"

(Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon; Rank 4; ATK: 2500; DEF: 2000)

"Battle! Stargazer Magician, attack Flare Scarab!"

"No you don't! I activate my trap card, Negate Attack, to stop your attack and end your battle phase!"

The card sent a flash of light that forced the Magician about to go back to Yuya's side of the field.

"Now… for my strategy to come into play," Jaden smirked, "But, first, I'll summon Neo-Spacian Dark Panther!"

This summoned up the black panther with a cape.

(Neo-Spacian Dark Panther; Lvl 3; ATK: 1000; DEF: 500)

"Next, I'll play my Spell Card, Hypnotic Control! This lets me get control over one of your monsters for the remainder of the duel unless it is destroyed in battle. I'll take your Timegazer Magician!" Jaden announced as the magician went over his side of the field, "Next, I play Spell Reproduction! I discard two Polymerizations to take a spell card back from my Graveyard and add it to my hand. I'll add Hypnotic Control back to my hand, but it won't be staying for long. I activate Hypnotic Control again to take your Stargazer Magician!"

Yuya gasped as he saw his two Magicians on the opposite side of the field.

"Now, I'll activate another Spell Card. Recall! I can recall all of my monsters from my field to my hand!"

"What are you doing…?"

"Taking a page out of your book!"

"Oh no!" Yuya gasped as he realized what Jaden was doing.

"I'll use Scale 1 Stargazer Magician and Scale 8 Timegazer Magician to set the Pendulum Scales in place! I'm taking control of this Duel starting now!" Jaden declared as he put the two monsters into position, "I'm now able to summon monsters with Level 1 through 8 at the same time!"

"This should be a good duel…" Yuya muttered.

"Swing, pendulum of victory! Carve an arc of light across the sky! I now Pendulum Summon my monsters!"

Both Flare Scarab and Dark Panther returned to the field, but they were now joined by Elemental Hero Neos and a golden armor clad warrior with horns on his head like a bull and blades on his arms and even his back to act as wings.

(Neo-Spacian Flare Scarab; Lvl 3; ATK: 500; DEF: 500)

(Neo-Spacian Dark Panther; Lvl 3; ATK: 1000; DEF: 500)

(Elemental HERO Neos; Lvl 7; ATK: 2500; DEF: 2000)

(Elemental HERO BladeEdge; Lvl 7; ATK: 2600; DEF: 1800)

"Not bad for your first time using a Pendulum Summon," Yuya admitted.

"Now, we battle! BladeEdge, attack Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon!"

The golden warrior took a leap and slashed the dragon with his arm blade. The dragon shattered and vanished from the field.

(Yuya: 4000-3900)

"I set two cards facedown. Your move."

"Now then… with the already set in place Pendulum Scale, I Pendulum Summon again!" Yuya declared, "Revive from the extra deck, Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon!"

"Wait… revive from the Extra deck? What do you mean by that?"

"If a Pendulum Monster would leave the field to go the Graveyard, they instead go face up to the Extra Deck. Now then, I activate the effect of Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon! By detaching one Overlay Unit, I target one Level 5 or higher monster to half its attack points and then my dragon gets those attack points until the end of the turn! I detach one Overlay Unit and target your BladeEdge! Treason Discharge!"

(Elemental Hero BladeEdge; ATK: 2600-1300)

(Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon; ATK: 2500-3800)

"Battle! Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon, attack BladeEdge!"

The dragon in question blasted a burst of purple energy at the armored monster.

(Jaden: 4000-1500)

"Now, Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon, attack Dark Panther and end this duel!"

"No you don't! I activate my Trap Card! Compulsory Evacuation Device!" Jaden declared as the card flipped up to show a gizmo launching a monster into the air, "I send your Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon back to your hand!"

The dragon in question was literally launched into the air before fading away, Yuya taking the card back.

"Good move. I place one card facedown and end my turn."

(Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon; ATK: 3800-2500)

"I draw!" Jaden announced. He took a moment to look at his card, but then tilted his head a little. The monster on the card looked to be based on a phantom thief with a rather large black cloak, along with a top hat, a white domino mask, and yellow eyes peeking out of the mask, _'Neo-Spacian Phantom Joker? I don't remember making this…'_

" _ **Yeah, you did. You made him alongside the others. Don't you remember?"**_

' _Wait, what? ...oh, whatever…'_ Jaden thought, "I tribute Flare Scarab so that I can summon Neo-Spacian Phantom Joker!"

The monster in question took the stage in a blaze of blue fire.

(Neo-Spacian Phantom Joker; Lvl 5; ATK: 2400; DEF: 2000)

"Never seen that before," Yuya admitted.

"I kind of forgot I had this card…" Jaden said before he shrugged, "I now activate the effect of Phantom Joker. You need to hand over two facedown monster cards from your Extra Deck."

Yuya was shocked by this, but did so.

"Now, I'll play Polymerization! I fuse Elemental Hero Neos and Neo-Spacian Phantom Joker!"

In a rather showy fashion, Phantom Joker tossed up his hat before pulling off his mask, handing it to Neos as his body turned into flames. Neos put on the mask and became engulfed in the blue flames, causing the white areas on Neos to turn grey, him to gain Phantom Joker's cloak, top hat, and mask.

"Appear, Elemental Hero Phantom Neos!" Jaden declared.

(Elemental Hero Phantom Neos; Lvl 8: ATK: 3500; DEF: 2800)

"I set one card facedown and end my turn."

* * *

Back over with Yugi, he was currently staring at the new card he had found with a confused look.

' _What in the world is a Link Monster and an Extra Monster Zone?'_ he thought.

Yugi gripped his head as he tried to figure this out before the power in the apartment went out.

"Yeesh… the weather is pretty bad…" Tea muttered.

"Um… Tea?"

"Something up?"

"Have you heard about something called 'Link Monsters' or an 'Extra Monster Zone'?"

"...I think I heard Pegasus say those names are something he's beta testing for the future of the virtual duel program Kaiba made before he died. I at least know he mentioned Extra Monster Zone. Link Monsters? I'd have to check."

After a bit of thinking, Yugi ended up putting the card into his Duel Disk to see if anything would happen. A light blue energy portal appeared in front of Yugi and he suddenly saw what looked to be the future.

"What the…?"

"I guess I was given this card for a reason. I'll be back when I can, Tea."

"Good luck," Tea said before she kissed his cheek.

Yugi then headed forward through the portal…

* * *

"I draw! I now Pendulum Summon once more! Come forth, my monsters!"

Two monsters spawned from the portal before Yuya. The first looked like a grasshopper with an archer's bow for a nose and the second was a red phoenix with differently colored eyes.

(Performapal Bowhopper; Lvl 4; ATK: 1500; DEF: 1000)

(Performapal Odd-Eyes Light Phoenix; Lvl 5; ATK: 2000; DEF: 1000)

"And now, from my hand, I summon the Tuner Monster Performapal Odd-Eyes Synchron!"

Suddenly, a small monster resembling a top hat with a green and a red eye appeared, wings on the hat and stretchy limbs.

(Performapal Odd-Eyes Synchron; Lvl 2; ATK: 200; DEF: 600)

"Next, I'll Tune Performapal Odd-Eyes Synchron with Performapal Odd-Eyes Light Phoenix!" Yuya declared.

The Synchron turned into rings as the Light Phoenix flew through them and turned into lights.

(2+ 5 = 7)

"Spread those wondrous and beautiful wings to whip up a whirlwind of destruction! I Synchro Summon! Appear to my side, Clear Wing Synchro Dragon!"

From the light, a white dragon appeared with blue and black armor, looking very futuristic, and having blades of a clear blue.

(Clear Wing Synchro Dragon; Lvl 7; ATK: 2500; DEF: 2000)

"I now use Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon's second Overlay Unit to decrease Dark Panther's attack points! Treason Discharge!"

(Neo-Spacian Dark Panther; ATK: 1000-500)

(Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon; ATK: 2500-3000)

"Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon, attack Dark Panther and end this duel!"

"No you don't! I play my Trap Card, Negate Attack, to stop your attack and end your Battle Phase!"

Yuya just sighed as he motioned for Jaden to take his turn.

(Neo-Spacian Dark Panther; ATK: 500-1000)

(Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon; ATK: 3000-2500)

"Now then, with the Pendulum Scale I have in place, I now Pendulum Summon!"

Three lights appeared and from it appeared three familiar monsters.

(Neo-Spacian Air Hummingbird; Lvl 3; ATK: 800; DEF: 600)

(Elemental HERO Sparkman; Lvl 4; ATK: 1600; DEF: 1400)

(Elemental Hero Necroshade; Lvl 5; ATK: 1600; DEF: 1800)

"I now play Card of Sanctity! We each draw until we have six cards," Jaden announced as the two duelists filled their hands with the needed cards, "And I now activate Air Hummingbird's special ability! With this, I gain 500 Life Points for each card in your hand!"

Yuya looked a bit surprised as lilies appeared from his cards, Hummingbird fluttering over and suckling from each one.

(Jaden: 1500-4500)

"And now I play Polymerization to fuse Sparkman and Necroshade! Through their combined might they become Elemental Hero Darkbright!" Jaden declared.

(Elemental Hero Darkbright; Lvl 6; ATK: 2000; DEF: 1000)

"And now we battle! Darkbright, attack Bowhopper!"

The dark and golden figure rushed in and attacked the grasshopper without much effort.

(Yuya: 4000-3500)

"Drat!" Yuya yelled.

"I now set one card face down. Your move."

Yuya sighed as he drew his next card. He gave it a look and then smiled, "I now have Clear Wing Synchro Dragon attack Darkbright."

"I play my trap card in response! Bottomless Trap Hole will banish your monster from the duel!"

A dark portal opened and the dragon was forced to drop down through it.

"I set two cards facedown and end my turn. Your move."

"Well then… time for my next plan. I activate the effect of Xiangke Magician in my Pendulum Zone. I target one Xyz Monster and change its Rank into a Level!" Yuya announced.

(Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon; Rank 4 = Level 4)

"And now I activate the effect of Xiangsheng Magician in my other Pendulum Zone to copy the level of another monster I control! I copy Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon's level to Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon!"

(Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon; Level 4-7)

"And now, I overlay Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon and Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon!" Yuya declared as the two dragons entered a portal, "Dragon of dual colored eyes. Unleash that black scale of wrath, eradicate all opposing enemies, and send my enemies fleeing with dread! I Xyz Summon! Come forth, Rank Seven, Odd-Eyes Rebellion Dragon!"

The dragon in question emerged, looking like a monstrous black dragon with red, purple, blue, and orange accents all over, looking like a mecha almost, along with a rather odd fusing of Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon's and Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon's heads.

(Odd-Eyes Rebellion Dragon; Rank 7; ATK: 3000; DEF: 2500)

"I now activate its special ability. If an Xyz Monster was given a level and used as an Overlay unit, I can destroy monsters on the opposite side of the field with levels lower than seven, and if they are destroyed, you take damage equal to their attack points!"

A large purple wave came flowing off of the wings of the dragon and struck down Air Hummingbird, Dark Panther, and Sparkman.

"I activate my Trap Card, Fusion Fortress! As long as I control a Fusion Monster, I take no damage from opposing card effects!" Jaden yelled out as the trap card appeared and defended him from the attack.

"I'll set one monster facedown and end my turn…" Yuya announced.

* * *

Akiza continued to keep an eye on Rio as they waited for the power to come back on.

"Akiza?" Luna spoke up as she walked over.

"Yes?"

"Nobody knows what caused the power to get knocked out… and I haven't been able to contact Yusei at all. ...something's going on…" Luna informed.

"Should we do something?" Carly asked.

"I'm not sure…"

"...I'm sorry…" Rio spoke up, "Sorry for being scared and all. I-"

"Don't worry about it…" Akiza told her calmly, "I'm sure that the power will come back soon enough…"

Luna looked outside the window and gave a small gasp…

* * *

"Alright… I now use my Pendulum Scales to Pendulum summon once again!" Jaden declared, "Come to my side, Elemental Hero Avian and Elemental Hero Burstinatrix!"

The two iconic monsters popped up on the field, the first being a green birdman and the other a red-clad woman with long hair.

(Elemental Hero Avian; Lvl 3; ATK: 1000; DEF: 1000)

(Elemental Hero Burstinatrix; Lvl 3; ATK: 1200; DEF: 800)

"And now, I play another Polymerization!"

Avian and Burstinatrix leaped into the air to combine together.

" _Pawn of Fusion…"_ Yuto muttered.

"Quiet," Yuya whispered.

"Pulling this one from my old buddy Aster. I summon Elemental HERO Phoenix Enforcer!" Jaden declared as he summoned a hero in black with red accents on his suit along with a green helmet of sorts and Avian's wings.

(Elemental HERO Phoenix Enforcer; Lvl 6; ATK: 2100; DEF: 1200)

"Now, I'll play Monster Reborn to bring back Sparkman!"

Sparkman took the field once again.

(Elemental HERO Sparkman; Lvl 4; ATK: 1600; DEF: 1400)

"Now, I'll play Premature Burial to bring back BladeEdge!"

(Jaden: 4500-3700)

(Elemental HERO BladeEdge; Lvl 7; ATK: 2600; DEF: 1800)

"And now, for another Polymerization! I fuse Sparkman and BladeEdge!" Jaden declared, "Appear, Elemental Hero Plasma Vice!"

The two heroes fused, forming a giant of a warrior akin to both, having the blue skin of Spark Man, the armor of BladeEdge, and sparking with electricity at its claws.

(Elemental HERO Plasma Vice; Lvl 8; ATK: 2600; DEF: 2300)

"Battle! Phantom Neos, attack Odd-Eyes Rebellion Dragon!"

Phantom Neos dashed forward and pulled out a staff to stab the dragon in the head with a blue fire. The dragon erupted into pixels before Yuya gained a small smile.

(Yuya: 3500-2700)

"What are you smiling about?" Jaden asked.

"If Odd-Eyes Rebellion Dragon leaves the field, another effect kicks in. I can destroy one card in my Pendulum Zone and place Odd-Eyes Rebellion Dragon in it. Xiangke Magician, leave the Pendulum Zone and make way for Odd-Eyes Rebellion Dragon!"

The magician left and Odd-Eyes Rebellion Dragon took its place.

"Now, I'll have Plasma Vice attack your facedown monster!"

The golden giant created an electrical spark that punched through the card and what looked to be a samurai before it sparked and exploded into pixels.

(Yuya: 2700-1900)

"Thanks to Performapal Handsamuraiger's effect, I can add a Level 5 or higher Pendulum Monster to my hand," Yuya smiled as he drew a card.

"Phoenix Enforcer, finish Yuya off!"

"Nope! I play my own Negate Attack!"

The Enforcer briefly flinched before leaping back to Jaden's side of the field.

"Now, I Pendulum Summon my Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon!" Yuya declared.

(Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon; Lvl 7; ATK: 2500; DEF: 2000)

"And now I play this Spell Card, Odd-Eyes Advent! With this card, I can ritual summon a monster!" Yuya declared as an altar appeared in the field and his dragon entered it, "Dragon with dual colored eyes! Let this ancient force grant you powers unlike any you've had before! I Ritual Summon! Emerge, Odd-Eyes Gravity Dragon!"

With Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon set on the altar, a pillar of light shot up, and from it emerged a black dragon with orange underbelly scales, a blue gem on its chest, and wrapped in golden bands.

(Odd-Eyes Gravity Dragon; Lvl 7; ATK: 2800; DEF: 2500)

" _Wait… where did you get this from?"_ Yuto questioned.

"Yuzu gave it to me."

" _When? We still haven't found her."_

"I… guess she will give it to me after we find her…" Yuya muttered, "...Yuzu… please be safe."

* * *

"So… what now? We just wait for Yuya and then the two of us go home?" Yuzu questioned.

"We'll figure that out once Yuya gets back," Serena told her.

"Yuzu?" a girl's voice called out.

"Oh boy…" Alexis muttered.

Another girl walked over, the others turning to see a tanned girl with red eyes, black hair, and currently wearing a yellow dress under a baby blue shirt, black shorts, blue heels, and a brown gun holster belt.

"Julia?" Yuzu gasped.

"Good to see you, I guess…" Julia shrugged.

"She from your world?" Serena whispered.

"Yeah," Yuzu nodded.

Serena gave a sigh as she looked at her deck, "Something is going on… just… what…?"

* * *

"Odd-Eyes Gravity Dragon, attack Plasma Vice!" Yuya declared.

The massive dragon roared a huge energy blast to beat the monster.

(Jaden: 3700-3500)

"And I now play this Spell Card, Double Impact. This lets my monster attack again, but it flips facedown after said attack! Attack Phoenix Enforcer"

Odd-Eyes Gravity Dragon once again let out a blast, but this one was aimed at the other monster. It then turned back face down as the damage was inflicted.

(Jaden: 3500-3300)

"I set one facedown and now end my turn."

"You're finished. Elemental Hero Phantom Neos, attack Odd-Eyes Gravity Dragon!"

Phantom Neos dashed forward towards the face down card, whacked it with his staff to reveal the dragon, and finish it off with a blue fire attack.

"I activate my Trap Card… 100 Soul! Regardless of the damage calculation, I survive with 100 Life Points!"

(Yuya: 1900-100)

"I'm still in this duel…" Yuya smirked.

"No… you're not. I play my Spell Card, Direct Burst! I summon a level four or lower monster to attack you directly and then it returns to my hand. And… for irony… I'm gonna use the card you gave me earlier because of Phantom Neos. I Special Summon Performapal Corn to attack you directly!"

The monster spawned from the Direct Burst card and dashed right at Yuya, the horn piercing Yuya's side as he fell to the ground.

(Yuya: 100-0)

"And THAT'S game! Gotcha there!" Jaden chuckled as he got Yuya's cards he took and handed them back, "Here you are. Good game, man. Good game."

"Thanks," Yuya smiled as Jaden helped him up, "Great use of the Pendulum Zones. You never use them before?"

"Never heard of it before today."

"You used them like a pro."

Jaden chuckled a bit as Yuya put the cards back in his deck.

"Best of luck dealing with that villain," Yuya told him as he extended an arm to shake Jaden's hand.

"Thanks," Jaden nodded as he accepted the hand-shake.

* * *

Meanwhile, within the far future, a man in a dark green and black suit with yellow Tron-esque lights, rocking a red, yellow, and pink spiky hairdo was currently dueling a male in a black outfit with green lights, and pure yellow hair. Currently on the other side of the field was a female monster that appeared to resemble a shrine maiden with a glowing naginata.

(Shiranui Splendidsaga; Link 3; ATK: 2300)

Meanwhile, on the side of the male with wildy hair was what appeared to be a metallic orb with feet, an antenna, and a tail with a red arrow along with a green face with blue eyes.

(Linkuriboh; Link 3; ATK: 300)

Below Linkuriboh was a ninja elf-like monster in a blue top with a green scarf, white and gold leg armor, black gloves, and platinum blonde hair.

(Elphase; Link 2; ATK: 2000)

Finally, to the left of Elphase, was a female monster in a white, black, and purple dress with a tablet in one hand, a black and blue visor over her eyes on her purple head of hair, and she had cords hanging out from under her cape.

(Backup Secretary; Lvl 3; ATK: 1200; DEF: 800)

"This guy does realize the irony in summoning a zombie monster via Monster Reborn, right?" a small being with a humanoid figure with a mostly black body with purple lines all over, and bright yellow eyes, commented.

"Quiet you…" the male responded, trying to focus as he and his foe rode on their hoverboards.

"I end my turn. Your move, Playmaker."

The red, yellow, and pink haired man drew his next card. He gave a confident smile as he looked at the Spell Card he just drew.

"From my hand, I activate the Spell Card, One-Time Passcode!" Playmaker declared, setting down the card he just drew, "I Special Summon a Security Token in Defense mode!"

With that, a drone of sorts appeared to Elphase's right.

(Security Token; ATK: 2000; DEF: 2000)

"Elphase's effect activates! It gains 300 ATK for each monster next to its link!"

(Elphase; ATK: 2000-2300)

"Appear! The circuit that connects to the future! The summoning condition is two Cyberse monsters! I set Elphase and Security Token in the Link Markers!" Playmaker shouted as the two monsters turned into lights before powering two arrows on a grid, both down right and straight down, "Link Summon! Appear, Link 2 Cyberse Witch!"

From the grid appeared a woman in silver and black armor, a purple cape, a black hood, and wielding a three-pronged staff with a green orb in it.

(Cyberse Witch; Link: 2; ATK: 800)

"When the Link Summoned Elphase leaves the field, I can summon a Level 4 or lower Cyberse monster from my Graveyard. Resurrect, Draconnet!" Playmaker declared.

From the card came another monster with a Tron aesthetic, but it was glowing bright blue with dark blue lines to show its wyvern-like form.

(Draconet; Lvl 3; ATK: 1400; DEF: 1200)

"Cyberse Witch's effect!" Playmaker announced, causing the witch to begin to glow with a purple aura around itself, "Once per turn, when a monster is Special Summoned next to its link I banish a Spell Card from my Graveyard to add two cards to my hand! I banish One-Time Passcode! But wait, there's more! When I activate this effect, once during that turn, I can Special Summon a Level 4 or lower Cyberse monster from my graveyard!"

Cyberse Witch raised her staff upwards and generated a portal.

"I Special Summon Cyberse Wizard!" he declared as a figure in white clothes and silver armor over a black bodysuit along with green hair and lines all over appeared with a staff with several blue glowing orbs.

(Cyberse Wizard; Lvl 4; ATK: 1800; DEF: 800)

"I now play Cynet Ritual! I'll use monsters who's levels will equal or surpass the level of the Ritual Monster I wish to summon. I use Level 3 Backup Secretary, Level 3 Draconet, and Level 4 Cyberse Wizard!" Playmaker declared, "The contract has been made. The sage who wields dark power inherits these three souls! I Ritual Summon! Rise, Cyberse Magician!"

As the monsters merged, what appeared to be Cyberse Wizard appeared, but it had more glowing lines, a purple suit under his armor instead of black, and a staff reminiscent of Dark Magician's hat.

(Cyberse Magician; Lvl 7; ATK: 2500; DEF: 2000)

"Battle! Cyberse Magician, attack Shiranui Spendidsaga! Cyberse Magician gains an extra 1000 attack points when it fights a Link Monster! Ike!"

(Cyberse Magician; ATK: 2500-3500)

The magician charged forward and struck the female monster down.

(F.O.E.: 4000-3800)

"And now my remaining monsters attack you directly!"

"Not so fast! I play this Trap Card. Dangerous Guardian! This Trap Card will defend me from your Direct Attack, but at the cost of me discarding all of my monster cards to the Graveyard and not being able to do anything with my next turn."

"...why would you do that?!" Playmaker yelled in confusion.

"Because your monsters are all pathetic. Even without anything to defend me, I'll be capable of beating you, Playmaker!"

"...I set one card facedown and end my turn."

"I end my turn."

Playmaker then drew another card and smirked a little, "I activate my Trap Card, Dimensional Recall! This lets me bring back one banished Spell Card, activate it, and then rebanish it. I'll bring back One-Time Passcode and use it to summon another Security Token before the Spell card is banished once more!"

(Security Token; ATK: 2000; DEF: 2000)

"I now send Stack Reviver in my hand to the graveyard to Special Summon Bitrooper!"

The next monster to appear resembled a white and yellow mech with blue eyes, a blue ring for a shield, and a lance, though it was on the small side.

(Bitrooper; Lvl 4; ATK: 1500; DEF: 2000)

"I summon Cyberse Gadget!" Playmaker announced.

Another monster appeared, having the appearance of a robot with a tablet for a forearm, a motorcycle helmet-like head, red shoulderpads, but was otherwise gray, teal, and white.

(Cyberse Gadget; Lvl 4; ATK: 1400; DEF: 300)

"Due to its effect, I Special Summon Stack Reviver from my Graveyard in Defense Mode!"

A small white, black, and gray robot with green eyes appeared with cord arms and chips coming out the sides.

(Stack Reviver; Lvl 2; ATK: 100; DEF: 600)

"Appear! The circuit that connects the future! The summoning requirement is at least two monsters. I set Security Token, Cyberse Gadget, Bitrooper, and Stack Reviver in the Link Markers!" Playmaker declared as the grid appeared and the four monsters entered the top, bottom, left, and right markers, "I Link Summon! Appear, Link 4, Firewall Dragon!"

Then a dragon with white armor, golden accents, and digital codes appearing all over appeared, spreading its wings as it roared loudly, glowing blue from its ringed head and its red eyes shimmering.

(Firewall Dragon; Link 4; ATK: 2500)

"I now play a Spell Card, Monster Reborn! I bring Backup Secretary back from the Graveyard below Linkuriboh's Link Mark!" Playmaker declared.

(Backup Secretary; Lvl 3; ATK: 1200; DEF: 800)

"And I now play this Field Spell card, Cynet Universe! With this, all my Link Monsters gain 300 ATK points!"

(Linkuriboh: 300-600)

(Cyberse Witch: 800-1100)

(Firewall Dragon; ATK: 2500-2800)

"You're finished. My monsters, attack him directly!" Playmaker ordered.

All the monsters rushed in at the opponent and did away all of his life points.

(F.O.E.: 3800-0)

"Wasn't that a little overkill?" the AI with Playmaker asked.

"As long as I beat a foe… no such thing as overkill…" Playmaker shrugged.

* * *

Playmaker eventually reached an area to log out at and was set to log out, but then…

"Playmaker," a woman's voice called out, making Playmaker turn to see a girl with blue hair and cyan highlights, wearing an idol outfit with a white top, blue skirt, pink accents, white angel wings with pink hearts and purple clovers, long navy stockings, and blue shoes.

"Blue Angel? What is it?" Playmaker questioned.

"There's somebody who said they wanted to meet up with you. They said it was vitally important and it would be a matter of life or death," Blue Angel explained, "Said to meet you at the edge of the virtual forest."

The male simply sighed before he walked off, not quite sure how to react.

* * *

Playmaker eventually arrived and saw a young boy who had hair nearly as crazy as his.

"Greetings, Playmaker. I am Yugi Moto. I was told that you are one of the strongest duelists in this era," Yugi greeted.

"Yeah right. As if you're the legendary King of Games…" Playmaker dismissively shrugged off while Yugi raised an eyebrow.

"But… I am."

"Nobody has seen the King of Games in nearly forty years. You can't possibly be him."

"I really am him!"

"...prove it. Show me cards that only Yugi Moto had."

He then showed off Dark Magician, Dark Magician Girl, Apple Magician Girl, Swords of Revealing Light, Black Luster Soldier, Black Luster Soldier Envoy of the Beginning, Watapon, Chimera the Flying Mythical Beast, Beta the Magnet Warrior, and finally Kuriboh. Playmaker then looked both amazed and disgusted at the same time.

"...what?"

"You truly are Yugi Moto…"

"And I'm from the past. Something is going on and-"

"Where have you BEEN?! All this time?! If you hadn't gone and vanished, then maybe the Hanoi Project wouldn't have happened and ruined my life and many others!" Playmaker yelled as he put his hands around Yugi's neck, "The world would've been better off without that dumb card game and without guys like you to promote it!"

Yugi managed to shove Playmaker off of him, and ended up angering the latter even more, "Listen! I don't know WHAT was going on with that Hanoi thing. What I do know is that something very bad is going on to reality and we need to do something about it! I promise you that unless we do something, everything will die!"

* * *

Within the pocket dimension, the pharaoh looked at his deck of cards and simply gave a smile…

* * *

Pikatwig: That's ominous… don't you think?

KKD: A little bit, yea.

Pikatwig: So… what did you think of the duels in this chapter? The duel between Playmaker and the guy we dubbed F.O.E. wasn't shown in its entirety, but I thought we did well enough with the Vrains mechanics of Link Summoning and the Extra Monster Zone. You?

KKD: The main duel was probably one of my favorites so far, and as of now, this story is starting to help me make some sense of the Vrains stuff, but not by much yet.

Pikatwig: Cool to hear.

KKD: Yea. It's a start.

Pikatwig: And, little funny story? So, Playmaker and Blue Angel are kind of allies and are… sort of friends in real life (though the latter is unaware of who Playmaker is). They were shipped… pretty much right out of the gate from what I've read. The funny thing is? People IN-UNIVERSE ship them!

KKD: Wow!

Pikatwig: Yeah. Kind of funny.

KKD: Yea.

Pikatwig: So… let's explain where Jaden got that new card from. Basically, like with Alexis in chapter one, the blending of different timelines gave it to him. He shouldn't actually have it, but a version of him from another timeline did and now, with time folding like a pretzel, he got it.

KKD: "Time folding like a pretzel". That just… I dunno how to react to that.

Pikatwig: It makes sense.

KKD: Ok.

Pikatwig: Anyway… favorite part?

KKD: Like I said, Jaden's duel. That was probably the coolest thing I've seen Jaden do.

Pikatwig: Yeah, that was a cool duel. I also like the one with Playmaker since it was pretty fun to do.

KKD: That was nice, I'll admit.

Pikatwig: Also… I wanna make quick comments about some of Playmaker's monsters. First, Linkuriboh. It's ADORABLE! It looks like a little plushie or a pillow of some kind.

KKD: It looks ok, but I'm not sure I'd call it adorable.

Pikatwig: Next, Firewall Dragon. It is the first ace monster of a protagonist to be banned in tournaments.

KKD: Wow. That's crazy.

Pikatwig: Cyberse Magician. Yusaku is the first protagonist since Yugi himself to use Ritual Summoning.

KKD: Oh yea, we hardly saw that type of summoning much.

Pikatwig: Finally, Cyberse Witch. I think she's cute. You?

KKD: Yea, she kinda is.

Pikatwig: Alright. Anything else you wanna say?

KKD: No. I got nothing this time.

Pikatwig: One thing I want to say about the next chapter, though, it's going to be a long one. Final duel, explanation of the baddie, learning of the baddie, wrapping up the story, and stuff.

KKD: Ok. Crazy, but I'm excited.

Pikatwig: Wrap up time.

KKD: Jaa ne.

Pikatwig: Just Live More.


End file.
